Best Wingman in all of Lucis
by Chumunga64
Summary: Gladiolus' quest to become the best Wingman is a daunting one. Originally from my Ao3, dedicated to the 10 Ignis/Cindy shippers out there.
1. Chapter 1

"Ah, some magitek engine remnant! We should deliver this to Miss Aurum the next time we arrive at Hammerhead when His majesty crashes the Regalia again."

"Appreciate the confidence Iggy, but what makes you so sure that Cindy needs one of those for? Prompto hangs on to her every word and he didn't mention it once."

The King's Shield chimed in on the conversation while the blonde gunman turned various degrees of red. "Well you see Noct, while Prompto was too busy staring at Cindy, our boy Iggy here was listening to her when he was reading his shopping list." Gladio caught Ignis stare at him in disbelief and guffawed lightly. "Come on Iggy, we've been pals since we were five, don't think I don't know how you eavesdrop on conversations by now.

The Advisor cleared his throat in an attempt to change the subject (and save himself from further embarrassment.) "Alright now, even though this conversation proved quite thrilling I suggest retreating from this cave. I can sense it's getting dark and I would rather not fight daemons all night."

"As much as I enjoy watching Ignis' cool exterior crack, I've gotta agree with him. I bought a flavor of Cup Noodles I haven't tried before and I don't want to waste any more time in this shithole.

Gladio saw Ignis' faces turn sour at the mention of his favorite food and said "Hey Iggy, why are you so angry for us eating cup noodles? It saves you the work of cooking for us!"

"Ah Sweet! finally food as it was meant to be- full of carbs, salt, and artificial flavourings!" Yelled the elated sharpshooter "And the best part? No freakin' vegetables!"added the king.

After admonishing his companions for being excited at the prospect of eating such garbage Iggy drove the men to Hammerhead to eat and rest up. He knew that while they didn't need to go to Cindy's garage he found himself longing to return there. Gladio was spot on in his observations and Ignis knew that he was enamored with the mechanic. While he was initially ambivalent to her "wardrobe", her kind nature won him over. He admired the fact she was so optimistic in spite of the death of her parents due to daemons (in fact, their deaths drove her to invent the anti-daemon headlights). The fact that she appreciated his cooking a lot more than his companions did was just icing on the cake.

Meanwhile, Gladio was forming his own plan to bring Ignis and Cindy together. While he was aware of Prompto infatuation with Cindy and thought it was cute, he knew that the punk crushed on every girl he came across. Now Ignis admiring a girl was a rare sight for the Shield. He's sure that Iggy only crushed on two, maybe three girls back when they were in the Royal academy. Now's his chance to give his hard-working friend something special. "Besides, I got Noct to finally man up and ask my sister out, how hard could this be?"

As they pulled up to Hammerhead they heard the familiar drawl of the Blonde mechanic. "Hey boys, does the Regalia need a repair?"

"Nah, we just need to stop here for a night or two" answered the King casually "and besides we bought you something we thought you might need" Noctis motioned for Ignis to bring out the piece of magitek they held. Cindy's emerald eyes widened at the sight at the rare, almost mythical piece of technology. She had to fight off the urge to shriek in delight. "THANK YOU BOYS SO MUCH FOR THIS" she yelled catching everyone around her off guard.

"Don't thank us" Gladio quickly interjected "It was all Iggy's idea" Before Ignis could react to his friend's revelation he was caught off guard by Cindy practically jumping on top of him and giving him a hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" exclaimed Cindy. Prompto's jaw dropped and Noctis belted out a hearty laughter at the sight of his stoic adviser turning as red as a tomato. Meanwhile, Gladio's satisfaction was palpable through his smirk. While everyone else saw Ignis blush, only he had the view of Cindy's flustered face. He knew this was gonna be a piece of cake.

Gladio's thoughts were cut off when Cindy detached herself from Ignis, the fact that she hugged the royal adviser was now dawning on her as she attempted to backpedal away

"Damn, Ignis must think I'm crazy after the stunt I just pulled" thought the grease-monkey. Meanwhile, Ignis was fighting off his urge to scream a thank you to the Gods for what just happened.

"Uh...sorry about...jumpin' on top of you there Iggy."

"It's no problem Miss Aurum...at least I know you have a good sense of gratitude" Ignis quipped to Lighten the awkward mood.

"Alright, who wants Cup Noodles™!" Yelled Gladio ready to dig in into his favorite meal. Noctis and Prompto enthusiastically agreed to his suggestion (leaving Ignis quite disgusted). Surprisingly, Cindy also objected to his choice of dinner.

"I may not be a top chef myself but even I wouldn't call this cup soup crap "food", 'sides doesn't Ignis cook gourmet food for you? Why would you not want to eat his cooking 24/7?" Iggy felt his face light up considerably in response to her dismissal of that "cup soup crap"

"Finally, another soul with some semblance of taste in this world! Miss Aurum would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight? I'd hate to waste food all by my lonesome."

"I would love to have dinner with you Iggy. Why don't you cook in my kitchen? I bet you've never seen a real one in a long time. And the Gods know I won't use it. I'm gonna take a shower in the meantime."

Ignis was elated at this prospect. Not only will he serve food to someone who appreciates fine dining, he'll get to use an actual kitchen and not a dinky outdoors grill!

As Ignis and Cindy disappeared from view Gladio mentally pat himself on the back. "Huh, I didn't even try to get Cindy on a dinner date with specs." Gladio thought to himself "I must be better than I thought. I just hope Ignis doesn't screw this opportunity up. Eh, I doubt it, I mean he's not Prompto". Shaking himself out of his stupor Gladio yelled at the two people leaving his sight "Hey, we're gonna pack it up after we eat! Take as long as you want having Dinner!"


	2. Chapter 2-Evening

Well, it was over.

Gladio looked inside his empty cup with a face of man who just lost everything. One minute his pallet was covered in delicious flavor and in the next minute it was gone. It was as if He never experienced the perfect harmony of flavour his Cup Noodles™ gave him. The big man let out a contemplative sigh at the end of his meal. He saw the bewildered looks of his comrades and he knew what was going on through their heads. They were probably thinking "Why does Gladio go through this weird depression every-time he finishes a cup of his favorite food?" But he knew that they would never understand his true love.

Gladio was cut off from his stupor when he heard his phone go off. He looked down to see it was a text message from Iris. She was currently raiding some Niflheim bases with Cor and her text was a message that she was coming back. The Shield was glad that she was coming back because that meant Noctis would try to impress her, and when Noctis wants to impress Iris he actually tries to be active. He chuckled to himself and thought back to all the times he tried to get Noctis to work out that scrawny body of his and all it took was for a girl to motivate the Chosen King.

"So...uh, was that Iris?"

"Yeah, she's coming back soon Noct. You could look at me when you're talking about my sister dude, I helped you grow the balls to ask her out why do you get all shy when you talk about her?"

"Speaking of Iris" Prompto slid himself into the conversation (as he was known to do) "Why are you so cool with letting her raid bases with Cor?"

"Well, since my Pops spent a lot of time training me it left my little sister all alone. So my Pops and I asked Cor to train with her. Hell, he's practically an uncle to us! You should have seen my Pops' face when Cor came to him after a year of training and said that she was probably the only person he trained that was worth a damn. Both of us spilled tears of joy that day!"

"Damn Noct! If what Gladio says is true I won't have any trouble believing Iris could kick your ass!

"Hell yeah, she could!" Gladio exclaimed, beaming with brotherly Pride.

"Speaking of impressing women, I think I'm gonna ask Ignis to teach me to cook.

"Why would you want to do that?

"Oh come on Noct! You heard how Cindy gushed over Ignis' cooking, If I could cook as good as him then I could finally win her over!"

Prompto's declaration got a rise out the Shield, who was now laughing Heartily.

"What's so funny Gladio? How can you possibly laugh at true love?!"

"Prompto, I can't believe your so dumb sometimes! Come on man! While we're over here yucking it up Iggy is having Dinner. Alone. At Cindy's"

Gladio and Noct looked at Prompto's face and they could have sworn they saw gears churning inside his head. The revelation hit Prompto like an Iron Giant and his face was in a panic.

"Th-that doesn't mean anything!"

"Really dude, it took me like three years to realize that I liked Iris and even I see the obvious attraction between those two.

"Well...Ignis is just a nice guy! He's just doing that "gentleman" thing he does to all the people he meets, nothing romantic is happening between them!"

"Do you not remember that Cindy literally threw herself at Ignis a couple hours earlier? Come on Prompto! While Ignis is cooking her the best dish he has to offer, Cindy is busy taking a shower and freshening up for a "night with Iggy", I hate to say it man, but once a girl is in Ignis' sights it's over.

"What the hell's that's supposed to mean?" asked the confused King

"I've known Ignis way longer than both of you dorks have so we both know how each other ticks. We met when we were four in the Royal Academy and since he was the only kid my age there we became fast friends. Even as a kid he never wavered from his goals. Once he set his mind on something he won't rest until he achieved it. It was only when we hit our teenage years that I realized his mantra applied to love as well. Ya see, while I went out with girls every night, Iggy only dated like, two girls, I asked him why he was so selective about his romantic options and he said something along the lines of "I will only pursue a woman whom I find interesting enough to chase." At first I thought it was a pretty dumb philosophy for a smart guy like Iggy but apparently it works super hard. The few girls he _did_ find "worthy to pursue " always bragged about how thoughtful he was...and how he was a master in the bedroom."

"Okay Gladio, TMI"

"How do you even know all the gossip teenage girls do"

"Well, I enlisted my little sister to help me find out about what our classmate thought about Iggy and she _really went into detail_ I'll tell ya that."

With a heavy sigh, Prompto admitted defeat. "well, looks like my chances with Cindy just went up in flames"

"Cheer up man, there's plenty of fish in the sea and your bound to find someone eventually!"

While the boys were cheering up the crestfallen Pormpto, Ignis was busy in the kitchen. He reveled in the fact that he had an _actual_ kitchen to work in again. No more grills that need a constant supply of charcoal to actually cook something! No more having to chose what to cook first, he could finally cook rice and cook meat at the same time! He was roused from cooking fantasies when he heard Cindy humming from inside the bathroom. "I should have asked her what she wanted for dinner before she entered the shower." As he simmered the vegetable Ignis mind wandered off to the past. His greatest memories of his mother involved cooking together. His one regret in life is that he never thanked his mother for all she did for him. "Seafood paella" A wistful smile ghosted on the strategist's face "It was her favorite." His mother's advice about love and food echoed in his mind.

"A surefire way into a women's heart is through her stomach!"

"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around..."

"Nonsense my boy, If you can cook than you could work your way into anyone's heart!"

"Thank you?"

"While you may not believe me now, sometime in a future a beautiful woman will catch your eye and you're going to look back at this day and sincerely thank me."

"Whatever you say, mum"

Ignis couldn't believe that he was actually following his mother's advice to win Cindy's favor. "Well, she was the wisest woman I've ever met and her advice never led me astray..." After a moment of contemplation, The bespectacled man drove all those nervous thoughts out of his mind to focus on the dish he was preparing. He knew that if he made a tiny mistake in such a complex meal than the results could be catastrophic.

While Ignis was cooking dinner, Cindy was in her room trying to psych herself up for her "date". "Okay, a cute guy is making a gourmet meal in your kitchen while you're over here talking to yourself. And not just a any cute guy, but possibly the only man on the continent that doesn't drool at the sight of you. Maybe If I-

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Cindy, would you be so kind and set up the table while I finish cooking?"

"Of Course!"

As the blonde mechanic stepped into the kitchen, Ignis couldn't help but mentally scan her from head to toe. She was wearing a plain white tank top and she traded her _extremely short_ shorts for a pair of white sweatpants. For the first time he could recall, Cindy's usual hat was missing her attire. He noticed how her hair framed her face perfectly and how emerald eyes glowed without the brim of her hat blocking them. In short she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Meanwhile, Cindy was taking in Ignis' appearance. She noticed that he took his usual jacket off and dislodged the first few buttons of his dress shirt. That left his toned chest in full view, leaving an _agonizing_ amount of his body to her imagination. For the first time, Cindy was grateful that her place's air conditioning was frequently on the fritz. His usual well coiffed hair was let down showing an odd sense of vulnerability from the man. The last thing she noticed was that his glasses were off his face and on the counter-top.

Ignis was the first to break the awkward silence "Well, what are we waiting for, let's dig in!"

As they sat down to eat dinner Ignis ignored his meal to watch Cindy take her first bite. He always loved to see the faces of people who eat his food (a habit he picked up from his mother). He had to fight the urge to grin when he saw Cindy's face light up after taking her first bite. He was then caught by surprise when he witnessed the blonde scarf down most of her meal. "well, at least I know she enjoys me cooking" the Count inwardly noted.

A stifled chuckle from Ignis made Cindy realize that she was pigging out and she hastily apologized for her manners, or lack of them.

"Why apologize? I enjoy it when people actually appreciate my food."

"Don't the boys give you props for your cooking?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that they have grown accustomed to my cooking. Praise is hard to come by..."

"You deserve all of it!"

The two spent the rest of the meal recounting old tales. Ignis talked about his friends debaucherous adventures. The memories of Gladio's drunken escapades, Prompto's spontaneous photo ops, and Noctis' fishing adventures sprang to mind. Cindy told tales of her Paw's veteran days and various time when she had to chase perverted men away with a wrench when it became obvious that "no" wasn't going to be an answer they accepted. By the end of their meal it feels like a lifetime has passed between them.

"So...what would you like to do now?"

After a moment of contemplation Cindy suggested that they watch a movie. She always had a stack of DVD's she never got around to watching and now was as good as a time ever. She Sat on the couch and motioned to Ignis to sit next to her.

The film was about a group of friends trying to stop some evil businessman from unleashing a demon sealed within a tomb. Ignis noticed the similarities between the movie and his own group's journey to stop the Empire and chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I just realized the plot of this film mirrors the journey my companions and I are going through. Well, almost. This film needed a member of a group to reign in on the hasty actions of the rest."

"Hah, you're always the responsible one, aren't ya?"

"It's unfortunately a burden I must bear. But I have to say, being the only sane man suits me."

"Why not we try something spontaneous tonight?"

"What are you suggesting?"

After a moment of hesitation, Cindy jumped on Ignis's lap. Her face was a few inches from his and she realized that she was too close for comfort. After what seemed to be an eternity she finally said the words that sealed the deal- "Kiss me".

Almost instantly Ignis capture her lips with his. He ran his tongue along the bottom of her lip, silently asking permission to enter and she complied. Their tongues dueled and after a few brief moments, Ignis asserted dominance. Cindy however focused her efforts on getting rid of the adviser's shirt. She hastily unbuttoned it (no doubt ripping a few buttons off) and marveled at the sight. "Huh, looks like Gladio's not the only one who has abs in the group..." she thought. While the blonde was running her hands across his torso, Ignis' fingers danced around the edge of her bra. He knew she was expecting him to just grab her breast, but he felt he was better than that. "It's better to take it slow"

A whining moan escaped the mechanic's mouth as she felt Ignis mouth leave her lips. Before she was able to ask why Ignis stopped her lips she yelped when she realized Ignis was now delivering open mouth kisses across her sensitive throat. A loud moan was let out when Ignis decided to attack crossroads between her neck and shoulder, no doubt leaving a mark.

After several moments of kissing the mechanic, Ignis decided to change the pace again. He slid his hand down Cindy's stomach, making his destination obvious. Cindy moved even closer to Ignis granted him her silent approval of his goal. His hand slipped inside her shorts but instead of delving in like Cindy thought, he just stroked her thighs. Cindy knew that he was teasing her, but that didn't stop her from hating the fact that he was denying her. Ignis felt like keeping the teasing going so he rubbed her nub. He loved the look of her flushed face.

Cindy however, was fed up with his teasing and dug her nails along his back in retaliation. the sharp pain of her nails made Ignis cease his incessant teasing and he finally slipped his fingers inside of her. He watched as the mechanic throw her head back and face flush even redder. She moved up and down his hand, the motion encouraging him to slip another finger into her wet heat.

For the first time in his life, Ignis was rendered speechless. While he was experienced with the other sex, Cindy was an anomaly. She was always kind and patient with to his friends no matter how much they wrecked the regalia and came in in the dead of night for repairs. Her sweet drawl and commitment to helping everyone she met made her the sole target of his desire. That does't even begin to cover her bewitching beauty. Her golden hair and gorgeously perfect body caught the stares of many men. To be honest, he found himself lucky that she chose him.

Ignis was shook out of his reverie when he felt Cindy rub at his visible erection through the crotch of his pants. he let his finger slip out of her to observe her next move in clarity. When he did that Ignis saw her face morph into a pained expression, no doubt due to absence of his fingers.

"Mrs. Aurum, what are you intending to do?"

"I really need...please." Cindy was barely coherent as she was struggling to undo Ignis' belt. Ignis regained his confidence when he noticed how he turned Cindy into a incoherent mess due to the ministrations of his fingers. He looked at Cindy thoughtfully, before doing something completely unexpected. In full view of the mechanic, Ignis bought his fingers; still wet from his fingering session and languidly licked them clean, savoring the taste. He relished the look of surprise and arousal Cindy shot at him before moving to the next phase of his plan- he picked himself off the couch with Cindy in his arms.

"What are ya doing, Iggy?"

"I intend to move our little tryst to your bed as I feel like that's the only place we can maintain any semblance of privacy. I hope that is okay with you."

Cindy Smiled and nodded her head "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

After a short walk to Cindy's bedroom, Ignis laid her on top of the bed. He made sure to treat her with the care she deserved. With Cindy lying on top of the bed Ignis undid his belt and took off his trousers and the boxer-briefs he had on, but not before grabbing the condom he always kept in his back pocket. From the bed, Cindy observed Ignis' actions. She licked her lipped when she caught sight of the Adviser's erect cock.

Ignis slowly climbed on top of Cindy and ran his hand across her face. Cindy bashfully blushed at the gentle care she received from the Count. "You are breathtakingly beautiful, Cindy." The words came as a gentle whisper right into her ear. She shuddered when the hot breath of his accented words met her flesh. After a moment of adjusting his body Ignis slid into her. He enjoyed the sight of her face melting into pleasure as he did. He repeated his actions harder and slower. His goal was to give her the best night of her life and by the look of her face he was succeeding. After a few minutes of his attention the blonde screamed in pleasure. Taking the hint Ignis pulled out of the panting beauty and took his place on the bed next to her. He put his arm around her and pulled himself closer as she was regaining coherency.

"I hope that you enjoyed dinner." The count said with a sly smirk.

"Yeah...it was amazing...and so was the dessert." the blonde replied after several seconds of panting.

Ignis looked at the clock and was a bit surprised to it was 1:25 in the morning. "I guess it's a bit to late to return to my friends, I'd rather not wake up his highness."

"Good, because I wouldn't have let ya leave!" Cindy proceeded to crush Ignis into a hug and gave him a soft kiss on a cheek. Ignis looked at his bed-mate and gave her a genuine smile.

"I suppose it's for the best, I would hate to leave and deny you a chance to try my famous breakfast."

Cindy giggled and curled into Ignis' body and after a few minutes the duo drifted off into a peaceful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3- The Morning After

Cindy was never a morning person, which is something she was certain of. She woke up at 9:25 A.M dreading the act of getting off the bed. Strangely today was different; an unusually delectable scent was coming from her kitchen. Her desires to discover the source of the fragrance lead her to hastily get out of bed and put a tank top and some shorts on to scout the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, it was Ignis cooking some food with his signature coffee in hand. Judging from the mounds of pancakes that were already prepared he either thought she ate like a daemon or he was cooking for others as well.

"Ah, Cindy! As much as I would love to give you a private breakfast, my friends have been awake and they seemed famished."

"No problem Ignis. I mean, after what happened last night, it would take a hella of a lot more me to get angry with you!"

"Well let's just hope that his majesty never improves his driving skills, I know how much you like taking care of the Regalia..."

After catching his smirk, Cindy decided to tease Ignis to make up for the teasing he did last night. "While I take care of the Regalia, I hope someone will take care of me. Maybe some tall, handsome Royal Adviser who is not nearly as uptight as he seems..."

"As much as I would like to keep up with this little game of yours, I have three hungry boys to feed and one gorgeous mechanic as well."

"Yeah you're right. Tell ya what; let me help you carry all this food outside so we could all have breakfast together!

"That seems like a splendid idea!"

The duo arrived outside carrying massive plates of food for the entire party. Noctis and Prompto were elated to see the mountains of breakfast stacked high on the outside table. Gladio meanwhile was focused on Ignis and Cindy's actions. Sure, they seemed normal to the untrained eye but Gladio received a lifetime of training as the King's Shield and thus, he was far more observant than his brutish looks conveyed. He saw how Iggy and Cindy held their gazes just a bit too long when they exchanged glances at one another. Or how their hands lingered whenever they touched one another when passing utensils. Rousing himself from his thoughts, Gladio decided to speak up to make the couple squirm a bit.

"So how was dinner last night?"

"Yeah Iggy, we stayed up 'till midnight waiting for you to pack it in with us but you never showed up! I guess you two really enjoyed "dinner" eh? Who's to say? There's no reason to judge" The Crown Prince realized what Gladio was up to and decided to join in.

Not missing a beat, the Adviser shot back at his King "Well some of us think that a lovely dinner and a romantic evening are more worthy of our time than pining over a childhood friend for years before finally admitting our feelings. But just as you said Noct, there is no reason to judge." He took a sip of his ebony after delivering his jab at the King.

The Shield belted out a raucous laughter while exclaiming "HOLY SHIT!" Across the table, Prompto spat out his drink is shock. Cindy reached over the table and gave Ignis a sort of victory smooch on the cheek for verbally eviscerating Noctis. The King however was frozen in shock. He never expected Ignis to utterly destroy him in a vocal sparring session. He knew Ignis could, of course, but he felt that Ignis was far too kind to lay into him like that. It was beginning to dawn on him that even his unflappable Adviser had limits.

Clearing his throat, Gladio diverted the conversation away from the embarrassed King "In all honesty, I'm happy for you two." He turned his head to look at Cindy "It's not all that often that Iggy shows attraction towards a woman, that means you're pretty awesome Cindy.

"Wow, I didn't know Ignis was so selective with who he dates! Now I feel special."

"As you should, I've known Iggy since we were kids and he dated like two girls! But the way he looks when he talks about, I've never seen Ignis look so happy, you must rea-"

Prompto cut off Gladio's "friendship speech" with his thoughts "Not gonna lie guys, I thought Iggy had a thing for Aranea..." Gladiolus punched Prompto in the shoulder; partly because Prompto was obviously jealous and partly because Prompto cut his speech off. Ignis wasn't put off by his friend's nagging and responded gracefully.

"While Aranea is a wonderful woman, she's solely focused on her job. She knows what she wants and that's admirable"

"In Prompto's defense, I also thought you and Aranea were a "Thing" before we had dinner. And speaking of "Things", I didn't know the Prince and Iris were a couple until now, what about Luna, Noct?"

"Me and Luna were "destined by the Gods" to be married since we were kids. I mean, we liked each as friends but that kind of arranged marriage stuff builds a lot resentment for the both of us. Never allowing ourselves to choose who we want to be with. And if we didn't, the war between Niflheim and Lucis would never end. But ever since the peace treaty fell through, things changed. We were no longer bound to marry each other since our nations' sorry excuse for "peace" fell through. Both Luna and Nyx texted me and the group about what happened. In short- Nyx put on the Ring of Lucis, but my father's spirit convinced the other Kings not to kill Nyx at the last minute and they escaped. Luna told me that she and Nyx became _close_ and even though she apologized to me I couldn't be happier."

"Why"

Gladio answered Cindy's question before Noctis could "Because it finally gave him the opportunity to ask my little sister out. Those two have been in love ever since they explored the Royal Garden together. Noct likes her because she was the only girl who didn't give a shit about his royal status. I'm just happy that they can finally get together and not be heartbroken because of the King's arranged marriage." The Shield would have finished his sentence, if he hadn't spotted a familiar feminine figure with a katana slung on her waist.

"Hi guys! I'm back from raiding bases with Cor, how's everything going?"


	4. Chapter 4- Gone Fishin'

***This chapter contains some Iris and Noctis actions, so if you don't support that turn back now! Iris is aged up here, of course. Also, I'm experimenting with some POV stuff in this chapter so tell me if I should do more. Or if you want me to stick with my previous style***

Gladio looked at his sister with a combination of relief and pride. In spite of the fact that he knew that his sister could kick ass (and probably massacred a ton of magitek soldiers with Cor), he still worried about her. She was his only family he had left and he would do anything to keep her safe. But looking at her now, full of confidence and a katana in hand, Gladio knew she had become a warrior. Another thing Gladio caught was the look Noctis gave her. The Shield Knew that Noctis only had this look on his face when he was fishing. The king's eyes were widened and his mouth was agape at the sight of his returning girlfriend. Looking at Noctis and back at his sister made Gladiolus recoil in horror. The terrifying realization hit Gladio like a ton of bricks- his sister was an attractive woman! The cute (and annoying) kid from his mind disappeared from his sight and was replaced by a beautiful young woman. "When the fuck did my sister grow up?" he yelled in his own thoughts. Gladiolus took another cursory glance at Noctis and also realized that the out of shape and lazy kid was now a handsome man who was capable of attracting woman.

"Hey kid, your sister surpassed my lofty expectations when I first took her in. So I decided to give her one of my katanas. She surely earned it. Also, why do you look like you just saw a ghost?"

Gladio was shook out of his stupor when he realized Cor was talking to him and responded to the veteran. "Wow that's some high praise for my sister. You sure you didn't just go easy on her because she was your good friend's daughter?"

"The fact that she's Clarus' daughter made me go harder on her. She's a powerful combatant and you're going to need her on your journey. Seriously, the first thing she did when we first trained all those years ago was to break a Magitek soldier's neck with her legs, I mean she didn't even know it was a robot and she just snapped it's neck. Now that's brutal. But anyway, I have to back and help the hunters now, If you need me just call."

Iris heard Cor's declaration and attempted to talk him out of leaving "Don't tell me you're gonna leave so soon! You could at least stay for the night?"

"Sorry Iris, I need to do some work but this won't be the last time you see me. I'm already running late so our goodbyes will have to wait." The Immortal suddenly turned to Noctis with a wistful smile "Hey King, Iris told me a lot about you and the way she looked when she was talking about you reminded me of Queen Aulea's face when she talked about your father. Try not to break her heart, alright?" With those parting words he walked away from the group.

Not wanting to miss one last opportunity to piss Cor off Gladio yelled in his direction "Hey Cor, are you in a hurry because Monica's _waiting_ for you?"

"Fuck off kid" was the only response Gladio received.

Amongst the laughter of the group Iris spoke up "Cor and Monica are totally dating. I caught him asking her for a date after one of our base raids. So what did I miss Gladdy?"

"Well, Ignis and Cindy are now an item so that's that. Aside from that, you haven't missed much. Noctis was pretty whiny without you though"

Ignoring the insulted "HEY" from her boyfriend Iris looked at the newly revealed couple packing items inside the Regalia and smiled. Ignis always overworked himself and he deserved someone like Cindy. She was roused from her thoughts when she heard Noctis greet her.

"So...welcome back."

"I can always count on you to give me a warm welcome, Noct." Iris knew that Noct was pretty terrible with his emotions and became used to his awkwardness. She was his first girlfriend and She knew how sheltered the king was. That didn't stop her from teasing Noct whenever she got the chance (She had to inherent something from Gladio).

"Yeah...that wasn't the warmest welcome...sorry"

"Apology accepted!" Iris grabbed her boyfriend into a tight hug and gave him a chaste kiss. She loved the look on his face as she pulled away, the way his pale cheeks turned a deep scarlet colour always made her laugh.

"I want to ask you something Iris..."

"Really? What is it?"

"Do you...want to go fishing tomorrow?"

"Wow! Gladdy always said you went fishing by yourself, even as a kid. What make you want to have company all of a sudden?"

"Well...I never always went fishing alone. I used to go with my father...it was one of the few things we did together. I never thought I'd want to do it with someone else...well, until you came along..."

"Oh, Noctis! I...I don't know what to say. I never knew I meant that much to you!"

"Trust me Iris...I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me. You're wonderful. Being a King is the second greatest privilege I have ever since I became your boyfriend."

"Alright then, it's a date!"

After a few brief minutes of settling when to pull the Regalia back in Hammerhead for tuning (and scheduling dates) between Ignis and Cindy, the four bros and Iris made their way to their next destination. As the moon hit the sky, the group decided that Galdin Quay was the best place to spend the night. Noct set his alarm clock early to wake up and fish in a nearby lake. Gladiolus was surprised that he asked Iris to go, the shield knew how Noctis always wanted to be isolated during fishing trips and the fact he wanted to take Iris meant something else was going on. He pulled Noctis aside right before the duo left with the Regalia.

"Gladio, is something wrong?"

"Just thought that you'll need these." Gladio instructed Noctis to hold out his hand and nearly burst in a fit of laughter when he saw the King's reaction.

"WHAT THE FUCK, GLADIO?! WHY WOULD YOU THINK I'LL NEED CONDOMS?!

"Relax Noct! Are you still fourteen or something? A condom should not set you off like that! Look, I don't give a fuck what you two kids do out there, I did way worse stuff when I was your age and I don't intend for my sister to see me as a hypocrite. Just...use protection if things get out of hand. Okay?"

"Alright, Gladio."

The King's shield watched the man he has sworn his life to walk to the car with his sister in the passenger's seat and chuckled to himself. "I can't fucking believe that Noct's gonna lose his virginity to my fucking baby sister." He shook his head in disbelief

"Is everything alright, Gladio?" came Ignis, who was casually leaning in the doorway.

"I'm just fucking bewildered that my little sister is alone with a guy, and that I'm more worried that my little sister will take advantage of the guy and not the other way around!"

Ignis chuckled at his best friend's conundrum while cleaning his glasses with his shirt "what makes you think Iris knows any more about sex than Noct?"

"Are you fucking kidding me Ignis? Iris was like the most popular freshman in college and was in the Shiva Sister sorority! As a man who partied with a _lot_ of Shiva Sister Girls, I'm pretty sure I know what they do when they're not fundraising! Fuck, their preferred method of fundraising is a fucking car wash dude! This is in contrast to Noctis, who I'm pretty sure never seen a real life boob!"

*Elsewhere, at a lakeside **Noctis POV***

I'm sitting on a lawn chair with my beautiful girlfriend lounging next to me and I couldn't be happier! I've been on my luckiest streak ever because my cooler is filled with gars, salmon and trevallies. I think Iris might be my good luck charm! All of a sudden Iris runs her hand up and down my thigh. What the hell is she doing?! At this point I begin to realize that Iris might not be as inexperienced as I am and start to fidget awkwardly.

"Hey Noctis..."

"Yeah?"

"We've caught all the fish Ignis wanted, right?"

"Y...yeah?"

"Want to play a game?"

I'm fucking shaking in my boots right now and I don't know if it's because of fear, arousal, or some twisted combination of both emotions tuning through my head. Iris voice is much deeper and huskier than I'm used to and her tone of voice is suggesting the game she has in mind is not a card game. And on top of it all, she's still rubbing my thighs her freakin' hand! She fucking knows what she's doing to me and it's driving me nuts!

"I bet I could distract you enough that you won't catch the next fish that bites!"

Okay, she just threw down the fucking Gauntlet right now! I love Iris, but she doesn't know me enough if she thinks anything will distract me from fishing. It's time I wipe off that smug (and extremely hot) smirk off her perfect face!

"What do you plan on betting, Iris?"

"Oh, nothing. I just love the feeling of winning bets..."

"Well, the only thing I want is to see the look on your face when you know that I, Noctis King of fishing will not be distracted! But one thing Iris..."

Yeah, Noctis?"

"I'm gonna need my special fishing lure. You know, the one with the black feather on it? Would you mind getting it for me? It's in the bag over there."

"I don't mind at all!"

I soon realized that asking Iris to get my lucky fishing lure was a huge mistake. I couldn't help but stare at her hips as she sashayed her way to the bag. It was as if she spent an eternity walking and I was staring at her at every waking moment. She bent to grab it, and I could swear that she was taking her sweet time getting the lure because she wiggled her hips at me while getting the damned thing. I really didn't want to be a huge pervert and stare at her ass while she was bent over in a miniskirt but at the same time all my hormones were going in overdrive and my body didn't obey my mind.

"Ah-ha! Found it! Here you go Noct!"

After thanking her for her help (and in my mind, the impromptu show) I hooked the lure in and threw the line. Almost immediately, a huge Gar took a bite and I thought the bet was mine for the taking and then something unexpected happened. Iris didn't return to the seat next to me and instead sat on her knees right on top of the sand. Almost lightning fast, she unzipped my pants and freed my yearning cock from the confines of my boxers. She licked her lips at the sight of me, and to tell you the truth- I was scared out of my mind.

The sweet and innocent girl that I thought Iris was had disappeared moments ago and was replaced with someone who had a crazy amount of "experience" (something I lacked entirely). She ran her pink tongue over my shaft as I fought the urge to belt out a pained moan. After a few minutes of teasing, her mouth engulfed (well, for lack of a better term. I'm still new to this shit) my length and her tongue swirled around me.

"I...Iris" I could barely contain myself and I knew I was going to cum real soon If she continued and she showed absolutely no signs of stopping her assault on my body. This is it; I'm going to blow my load after roughly a minute of my girlfriend's attention. This is really embarrassing. Well, at last I get to enj-

"I win"

"Wait what?" Why the hell did she stop! My body was going crazy when it realized that Iris stopped her work.

"I won the bet Noct. The fish escaped from your grasp."

I try to tighten my hand around my fishing rod when I realized that my rod was on the ground, discarded right next to me. Iris used her charms to distract me won our little wager and I was furious.

"That's not fair! You-

"I distracted you Noct. That was the bet, don't you remember? I claimed that I could distract you and stop you from catching the next fish and I was right. Shame, it seemed to be a big one too." She giggled as she got up and shook the sand off her body. She also wiped the gooey strips of pre-cum lining her mouth.

"I gotta say Noct that was pretty fun! But it's getting dark out and we should go back to the Quay."

I was shocked that Iris' voice went back to her usual cheerful and bubbly tone. Could she always switch it up like that? How much did she know about sex that I don't? I was furious (and really impressed) and I tried to salvage my pride with a cool one liner as she walked away

"Iris...I hate you"

"I love you too, Noct"

God Damn It!

 ***Yup, Noctis is a loser! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!***


	5. Chapter 5- Noctis' Revenge

"So how was the fishing trip with Iris?"

"I don't want to talk about it Prompto..."

"Shit, what did you do to piss off Iris?

"Oh no, Iris is fine. In fact, I would say she's pretty damn happy with herself. I'mthe one who feels like shit."

"I have no idea where you are going with this dude."

"Well it turns out Iris is more experienced than me when it comes to…sex."

"So what? "

"Wait, you're not gonna laugh at me?"

"Noct, the women I had a crush on was swept away from Ignis. I don't exactly have the high ground here when it comes to women. Besides, you spent most of your life being a prince who couldn't sleep around so it's not surprising that you lacked experience. Compare that to Iris, who aside from training with Cor freakin' Leonis lived a normal life. I mean, according to Gladio she even got accepted into _**The Shiva Sisters Sorority**_ in college before shit went down in Lucis."

"Shiva Sisters? Who are those?"

"Gods Noct, you're really dense! The Shiva Sisters are like the most premier sorority, only the most popular, powerful, and not to mention hottest women are privileged to join in. Being the daughter of the Shield probably helped her with the "powerful" part but it takes a lot more than connections to join up. Girls who are in the Shiva Sisters know _things_ and it looks like Iris is no different."

"Looks like I have a lot to learn to keep up with her…"

"Nah, she loves you _because_ you're a dork, dude. Embrace it!"

"Wow… _thanks_ Prompto."

"No problem, bro" the blonde gunman said while chuckling "Now if you'll excuse me, I got some sweet pictures to take. Peace out!" And with that, Prompto journeyed to his photo-ops.

Images of Iris catching the attention of the male students of the Lucian Royal University filled Noctis with mixed emotions. He knew that Iris was popular with guys, with her cute face, sweet personality and amazing body but to him those aspects were just bonuses. The reason why he was so drawn to her was the fact that she treated him like a person and not an idol. Someone who would ask him about his day and make fun of him when he tried to show off, not fawn over him and hang on to his every word like he was some great orator. Well maybe it was time for him to become the cool and confidant prince all the other girls thought he was. Iris deserved that king and now was the time to find her.

To his luck he found Iris almost immediately. She was talking to Talcott about training with Cor, bragging about how tough the Marshall was. He intervened on their conversation to put his plan in action.

"Hey Talcott, mind if I talk too Iris for a bit?"

"No problem Prince Noctis, I was just about to study some ancient texts with Mr. Scientia anyway. Bye!"

Noctis observed the boy closely, waiting for to step out of Iris' temporarily apartment. He smiled when he saw the kid lock the door on his way out, happy that his grandpa taught him some security measures. It was now or nothing for the young King.

"What did you want to talk abo-Mmph!"

Iris's words were cut off when Noctis smashed his lips onto hers. The king slammed her into her bedroom's wall while continuing his assault on her lips. She was caught off guard by Noctis' sudden brazen confidence but she slowly regained her footing and ran her hands through his hair. The king wasn't going to have it; he wanted to get back at her for what she did during their fishing trip and moved his hand from her hips to grope her pert breasts through her shirt. She squealed in his mouth in response to his ministrations and Noctis felt his ego rise. It was time to escalate his plans for revenge. He moved his mouth from Iris' now swollen lips and attacked her neck with great fervor. Iris fought off the urge to scream until she realized that they were alone in her apartment.

"Noct…what is this about?" It was a struggle to even talk with Noctis ravaging her body.

"Revenge for you did to me when we went fishing!"

"This…this is all for revenge?"

"Well it was…but the way you look now is driving me fucking crazy. Damn you are beautiful!"

"Thanks…you're pretty cute yourself"

"It looks like you're getting comfortable, and we can't have that…"

"What are you talking abo-WAAH!"

The king moved his wandering hand from his girlfriend's stiff nipple and ventured below. After a bit of fidgeting he got his hand under her skirt. Noct felt around her panties and felt a rush of pride go to his head (and a rush of blood go to his _other head)_ when he found out she was already wet. "Guess I'm better than I thought! Focus Noctis! Can't mess up now!" He took one look at his blushing girlfriend and slipped his fingers inside her wet heat.

"N…Noctis!"

"You enjoying yourself?"

"Yes!"

"Well I'm done."

Noctis slid his fingers out of his girlfriend and took a good, long look at her face. The mixture of arousal and, pain, sadness, and longing that she displayed tempted him to abandon his plans for revenge and just go for it but he fought back those temptations. He cupped her face to make sure she got a good look at him and licked his fingers clean of her essence.

"Noct…why did you…?"

"Stop? Let's just say it was payback Iris. What you did last night was borderline treason. Denying your king the satisfaction you were giving him. I thought it would be fair if I got you right back." He punctuated his words with a sly smirk. "You should clean up; it would be awkward if someone walked in on us."

Iris recovered from the shock of the entire ordeal after a few minutes. As she took a glance of Noctis walking away she felt like she needed to say something.

"Noctis, you jerk!"

"Love you too, Iris."

 ***Bonus***

"Hey Iggy, looks like you got a message" The Shield handed his best friend his friend while trying not to giggle.

"Thank you, Gladio"

"Well, I wouldn't want you to miss anything from Cindy"

"Indeed"

"By the way Iggy, you should change the settings of your phone so you can't see the contents of the message on the notification bar."

"Oh...Why should I do that?"

"It could help hide the fact that your girl is sending you nudes. Seriously, I turned on the screen and got an eyeful of boobs. Not that I'm complaining mind you…"

Ignis snatched his phone from Gladiolus and walked away, his cheeks turning a bright scarlet colour. "I need to send something in return for Cindy" he thought.


	6. Chapter 6-Garage

"There you are! Iggy and I were looking for you."

Gladiolus guffawed as he looked at the couple whose hands were clutched together. His sister was overjoyed with the physical contact she had with Noctis, meanwhile the King was trying too hard to not look affected by his girlfriend. Unfortunately, the pink blush on his porcelain skin gave his emotions away.

"Why were you looking for us, big bro?"

"I'm gonna need you and Noctis to look after this place. Cindy came here to upgrade the Regalia, said somethin' about going off-road and Ignis is helping her with the car. Since specs is busy, Prompto is doing the grocery shopping.

"And what about you?"

"I'm going to hit up a local bar, Aranea thinks that she can drink me under the table and I ain't gonna let anyone beat me in a drinking game!"

" _You're so responsible_."

"Shut it, Noct. We all know that me and Iggy do most of the work here and we both deserve a break. I asked Iggy if he wanted a day off but he was adamant about helping Cindy."

"Iggy was always a car guy and he treats the Regalia like his baby. Hell, he even refused a rental when Ardyn took it."

"Are you sure that's the _only_ reason why Ignis chose to spend the whole day alone with Cindy?"

"What do you mean Iris…oh, yeah that too."

The Amicitia siblings shared a hardy laugh at the Chosen king for being a clueless numbskull. "Geez, Noct I'm starting to feel bad for my sister for dating such a drill bit!"

"Stop messing with him, Gladdy! Besides, aren't you supposed to be at a drinking contest?"

"You're right. Remember, stay and watch the apartment. Peace!"

Gladiolus left the apartment in a hurry, leaving his sister and Noct in the dust. The young couple took sharp glances at each other. The realization that they were going to be alone for a couple of hours dawned on them. They were free to do _whatever they wanted._

"Wanna see what's on T.V?"

"Sure"

Meanwhile, in the garage Cindy and Ignis were busy upgrading the Regalia. The bespectacled Advisor was delighted when he got a message from Cindy stating that she was going to come over and upgrade the Royal car (the attached nude pic certainly helped the mood…). Currently, the adviser was lugging around a huge set of off-road tires towards Cindy's workstation.

"How are you luggin' around those tires like that Iggy?"

"It's no bother; I benched much heavier weights during my training regiments. It's _really_ hard to become a bodyguard to Royalty. Although, I'm no match for Gladio when it comes to sheer strength…"

"Yeah but Gladio is a huge meathead, not that there is anything wrong with that but from where I come from most men are like Gladio, except without his intelligence and a whole lot more sexism. You on the other hand are different!"

"What do you mean by that?" Ignis said with a smirk

"The fact that you're the only one who doesn't stare at my ass when I'm working makes you different enough. That accent you have also drives a girl _crazy_. Not to mention your great work ethic and cool, reliable personality. You being a cute cook is just icing on the cake."

"I didn't know "great work ethic" was such a turn on for you."

"I worked my ass off all my life making a name for myself. There are a lot of garages in the land and I had to do _something_ to gets some eyes on my place. Turns out guys like looking at a hot girl wearing this outfit, it's no skin off my bones.

"So you wear that to attract potential customers? Well they say any publicity is good publicity…"

"Well that's only part of it. Women flock to Hammerhead because I'm probably the only female mechanic in the land and sista's gotta support each other and men love my work because I'm dressed to impress!"

"And what does Cid think of all this?"

"At first he obviously ain't approve, but when I showed him I get to charge 3 times the amount he charged and got massive tips, well…let's just say he's a good businessman.

"A lot of men seem to be interested in you and you choose to focus your efforts on me, tell me are Crown City men really that popular around here?"

Cindy frowned at Ignis' self-deprecating remark and set the record straight "Actually, people from Insomnia are hated everywhere but Insomnia."

"Really, Why?"

"Well, while everyone else in Lucis has to fend for themselves in a land full of dangerous critters and daemons, you city folk are livin' it up in your heaven! Every other city folk that I came across treated me and my friends like shit because we lived our lives here! That's why I like you, Iggy. You treat me like a person, which is better than most men around here treat me as, and certainly _a lot_ better than most Crown City men folk treat me! Yeah, the rest of the boys are friendly, but Prompto is smitten with me and Gladio and Noct value me just for my skills. You are the only guy that cares about me as a _person_!"

Without hesitation, Ignis put his arms around the mechanic. She gasped in surprise at the sudden gesture and was even more surprised when he took some time to wipe some tears flowing down her cheeks. She didn't know she started crying until she witnessed the adviser wiping her stray tears. Cindy quickly forced out an awkward laugh and moved Ignis' arms off her in an attempt to save face.

"Heh…sorry for blowing up there Iggy, don't know what came over me."

"You're wonderful"

"Uh, excuse me?"

"I just want you to know that you're a wonderful person and I adore you. Your grandfather told me about what happened to your parents, that a daemon killed them. You used the pain in your life to ensure that others don't have to experience what you did. The anti-daemon headlights saved our group's lives' a number of times. I was not aware that you went through such traumatic events because you always keep a cheerful façade. You care so much about our journey to stop the empire that you never divulged anything about yourself, in fear of your sorrow tying us down. Are you aware of how _incredibly selfless_ you are?! I spent my life away from my family and trained tirelessly to one day serve the king, I met braggart politicians who praised themselves on their "integrity" and "valor", many of whom never had a life outside of luxury. The fact that I am the object of affection of such an _angel_ makes me feel like I am blessed by gods themselves!"

"Gosh, Ignis…I never…nobody ever talked to me like that!"

"You deserve more praise than my meager vocabulary could muster Cindy, I just want you to know that when this is all over, I don't intend on leaving you while I help run the Kingdom…"

"Oh Ignis that's sweet and all but I don't think that I could leave Leide, I was raised here an-

"Then I shall move in with you"

"Ignis, you can't! You have such important things you're gonna have to do after you save Lucis!"

"I will make the necessary travel arrangements if I must, I can't bear to live a life without you by my side!"

"Nothin's gonna change your mind, huh?"

"Unfortunately once I put my mind on something, I can't help but accomplish it. And right now my goal is to forge a life with you."

"Okay, let's talk more about this _after_ you guys save Lucis."

"As you wish."

An Awkward Silence engulfed the room. Both Ignis and Cindy let their heart out to each other and both did not know what to do with the aftermath of their "talk". They felt that it would be wrong to just continue working on the Regalia as if nothing happened. An idea popped in Ignis' head, he didn't know if it was a _good_ idea or not but it couldn't hurt to suggest it. Luckily, Cindy thought the same thing and was less hesitant to speak her mind.

"Ya know, I think we should _blow off some steam_ , because I'm a little too restless to work on the girl right now."

"What a surprise, I was about to suggest a similar idea…"

"Well great minds think alike, let's just head back to your guys apartment and fool around!"

Ignis' face scrunched up in disappointment "alas, Gladio has informed me that Noctis and Iris were in charge of keeping the apartment safe in our absence. I would rather not get caught in any compromising position by those two."

"Yer right, those kids aren't exactly mature. Well…I guess we'll keep working on the Regalia."

"I don't think so…"

"What are you talking abo-WHA!"

Ignis guided Cindy against the wall and bent down so his head was level with Cindy's waist. He took off his glasses and gently placed them on the floor before taking a fleeting glance at his girlfriend, a nervous nod from Cindy let him know that she approved of his actions. The Count swiftly unbuttoned her shorts and took a gander of her underwear, the final bastion between her sex and him mouth. Cindy was a little surprised (and really aroused) when she witnessed Ignis take off her pink thong with his _teeth._

"I may not be able to show my appreciation towards you with my mouth but I believe my mouth could still find a way."

With those final words, the adviser dove into her with zeal. Cindy actually took a minute to take in what was happening to her. Ignis, who last week she didn't even know was into her, was buried between her thighs, worshipping her with his tongue. His sharp tongue, trained by years of orating and negotiating was being put to better use eating Cindy out. Ignis knew the importance of pace and variety so every now and then he switched between long languid licks and sharp teasing of her clit. He relished the aroused moans coming out of her and stole another glance at her face. He was delighted to see that one of her hands tease her nipples through her bra. Unfortunately (or not), her other hand took a fistful of his hair and pushed him back between her legs. Ignis didn't mind Cindy's nonverbal commands to finish his work; after all it would be so uncouth of him to deny her the satisfaction she deserved. After another couple minutes of eating her out, the mechanic climaxed all over Ignis' mouth.

He stood up and wiped the excess cum off his chin with a handkerchief he always carried in his shirt pocket. Ignis stood silently for a minute, waiting for Cindy to regain her senses. The mechanic breath returned to normal and she put her clothes back on, and she thanked Ignis for his work.

"Iggy…that…was amazing"

"Glad you appreciated it."

Cindy giggled at his little joke then threw herself at him for a hug. She felt like she needed to return the favor so she kissed Ignis. She wasn't surprised when she tasted himself upon his lips, what _did_ surprise her was what happened afterwards, namely, the door to the garage opening up and the rest of the group popping up.

"Can you believe the bar ran out of beer before me and Aranea started our drin-WHOA! Sorry for interrupting you guys…"

"Hey Iggy, the Prompt-mister got all the food you needed, er, this is a bad time…

"Iris and I wanted to check out the progress on the car and OH MY GOD!"

Iris was the only one who apologized for barging in "Sorry for not knocking on the door you two!"

 ***The Next Day***

"Can you believe the bar ran out of beer before we even started our game? I mean it's a fucking bar, all it should have is alcohol!"

"That seems…inconvenient. What did you two do then?"

"Eh, we just played King's Knight for a bit and called it a day."

"Well at least your day wasn't a total waste."

"Speaking of waste, I'm sorry for interrupting that make out session between you and Cindy. I kinda violated the bro code there."

"It's no bother; it would have been awkward if you came just five minutes beforehand."

"Oh, what do you mean?"

"Well, I was…how you say…eating her out…"

Gladio's mouth dropped and he put his arm around Ignis' shoulder "Gods' sakes Iggy, you're ruining my image of you more every day."

Ignis took Gladio's arm off his shoulder and cleaned his glasses "Well…I'm going to have to return to the garage tomorrow to finish the upgrades to the Regalia. We got a bit distracted today."

"Yeah, "a bit", I hope I don't go to the garage tomorrow and find her blowing you…"

"GLADIO!"

"Just fucking with you Iggy!"


	7. Chapter 7-Resentment

"Man, these raids are exhausting!" Iris plopped down on the couch of the rather large living room. She picked up the television remote tentatively, but decided against watching anything. "Nothin' positive on T.V anymore." She thought. Iris looked down on the scattered magazines that were on her coffee table "Ugh, Note to self: never let Prompto read my stuff." One particular magazine caught her eye and made her re-live some rather painful memories. It was the Accordo Times magazine issue on Lunafreya, the cover was a beautiful picture of her in a white dress while the headline praised her for being "THE ORACLE EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW" with a little blurb detailing her marriage to Noctis. To her, Luna was always some perfect being, a Goddess who could do no wrong. Luna knew what to do and what to say at all times, everyone adored her. The worst part of Iris' feelings of Envy was the fact that no matter how hard she tried she could never demonize Luna. The Tenebraen women lived a painful life and _still_ became the youngest Oracle to ever ascend. How could she compete with perfection?

She was shaken from her thoughts when a knock on the door signaled the arrival of her Gladdy and Noctis.

"Good shit out there, sis. You were like a mini Cor."

"Yeah you were amazing! What are you doing here all alone, when we're all hanging out downstairs? Come on! Prompto is showing us some pics and I bet there are some badass ones of you!"

"Sorry guys, I was cleaning up some magazines Prompto left lying around"

"Why do you have a magazine about Luna in your hands? You know we're not a thing anymore right?

"Yeah, but it bought back some painful memories from when I thought you and her loved each other!"

"Wow, really? I never knew that you were so jealous of her…"

Gladio sighed and shook his head a bit, the Shield always wondered how Noctis could be so clueless about well…everything. He held back his tongue because he felt his sister could give a better explanation.

"How could I have not been jealous?! I've been in love with you since the first time we met and ever since then I've been bombarded with details over you and Luna's marriage! Everywhere I went I heard people saying stuff like "The prince is so lucky having Lady Lunafreya as a future wife" or "Those two would make a perfect couple" I felt worthless because I knew I could never compare to her!"

Iris didn't realize that white hot tears were streaming down her face as her rant continued. Gladio crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth on the couch, clearly uncomfortable with the events that were happening. Noctis' mouth was agape as he just realized the feelings of resentment Iris carried with her. He never knew that such a sweet and caring person bottled up this much pain.

"The worst part was the day I finally met Luna. It was a meeting between the two Royal families and Gladdy and I were there on guard duty. I have to admit, I secretly hoped that Luna was actually a bitch when no one was looking but nope, she was just as kind and wonderful and _fucking_ perfect as she was on the cameras! Then, Luna and Noct left to hang out and Gladdy left to chat with some girls and I was just there! I could have never confessed my feelings to you, Noct because you already had the love of your life and I didn't want to bur-"

Noctis cut her rant off with an unexpected hug. The king let his girlfriend cry over his shoulder for as long as she needed. He had a feeling that Iris was holding in those feelings for a long time. When Iris finally looked up at him, he had to pause to process what he was seeing. Her beautiful face was covered in tender tears, in that moment he resolved to never let Iris cry like that ever again. Noct wiped some stray tears of her face before telling her exactly how he felt.

"Iris, me and Luna were forced to be together, no matter how much we liked each other as friends we knew that we could never love each other. When you're a kid and you're being told that you are going to have to marry some other random kid, you're not going to like it. I always had my eyes on you iris; I just knew that I couldn't act on my feelings. Luna never really liked me either…"

"How could she not like you? You're perfect…"

"Yeah, if you're into guys that have no muscles" Gladio injected himself into a conversation; he caught a glare from the King and laughed mischievously.

"Although your brother is being a dick, he does kinda have a point. Luna is into beefier looking men. In fact, the trip you just mentioned? I only went alone with Luna, so I could be used as a decoy!"

"Decoy?"

"Yeah, I was just used as a cover so Luna and Gladio could have sex" Noctis responded in the most casual way possible.

"GLADDY, YOU SLEPT WITH LADY LUNAFREYA?!" Iris almost turned blue in shock as Gladio and Noctis chortled.

"Yep, it was just a quickie to relieve some tension; me and Luna were never dating."

"I never thought Luna would be into casual sex. I thought she was a "true love" kinda gal."

"That's what Luna and I hated about our status. We were always supposed to be perfect. Luna is a great person, but if she did one remotely normal thing, it would scandalous. Both of us couldn't do any typical teenage stuff. It sucked! Besides, I don't think me and Luna would ever be compatible even if we weren't in an arranged marriage."

"Why?"

"She's freakin weird! When we were teens, she refused to give me her number and instead insisted we communicate by passing letters through her magical dogs! She always told me that Umbra and Pryna would "deliver our letters without fail" and I'm like "yeah, cellphones could do that too and it won't take two months with a phone!" plus she said she was into older men and I'm four years younger than her."

"Wow….I didn't know all this about Lady Lunfreya"

"And I didn't know that you held all this resentment towards her. Why didn't you ever tell me you felt this way?"

"I didn't want to add to your growing list of problems Noctis."

"Iris, I fell for you because you're one of the few people who treat me like a regular person and not royalty. I _want_ to hear about your problems because I love you."

Gladiolus wiping away his tears and some undignified sniffling from the bigger man cause both Noctis and Iris to look at Gladio with confusion.

"Gladdy, why are crying?"

"It's just that this scenario remind me of my favorite novel, "Endless Dawn"! It's about a princess falling in love with her devoted knight instead of the Prince he was destined to marry. I'm sorry; I get really emotional thinking about it."

"Aw, that's sweet Gladdy…I think."

"Wait a minute, are you saying I'm a freakin' princess?! You know what, forget it. We have to go."

"Where are we going Noctis?"

"Altissia, I have to get the Leviathan's power and Nyx and Luna gave us a boat to go. We're heading out tomorrow."

"The empire is supposed to be there to" added Gladio "We best be better for anything"

"Don't worry dude, with all of us plus Nyx and Luna, it's going to be a piece of cake fighting off the empire!"

 ***this is going to be the last chapter before shit goes down. Also, even though I hate Luna, I decided to not treat her like garbage in this fic. I wanted to add more to her character but I don't know if it would considered OOC since the game gave her no personality***


	8. Chapter 8-Altissia

As Ignis helped Gladio load the last box of cargo on to the storage container of the boat he sighed in slight discomfort.

"This is it Iggy, Altissia, where the wedding was supposed to take place."

"I just hope the citizens of Altissia aren't too let down by the cancellation of the wedding…"

"I bet they're more preoccupied with the ongoing evacuation from the city. Luna was smart enough to inform Claustra that awakening Leviathan would cause some chaos."

"Well, if anything that makes our likely battle with the empire an easier one."

"Yeah, we can focus on just kicking ass and helping Luna and Noct make a deal with leviathan."

"Did you inform Miss HIghwind of our departure?"

"Yup, she's gonna take Cor and a couple of hunters on her ship while we go by boat."

"Excellent, Luna just informed me that she and Nyx intend to meet us at the city square to start our mission. She also believes that the Empire interfering is an inevitability."

"Is anyone really surprised at this point? I'm gonna get the rest of the group, why don't you say your goodbyes to Cindy? Ya know, just in case something happens…"

"Very well then, I won't take long."

"Take as much time as you need my man."

The walk towards the living room seemed to take an eternity to the Count. He prayed for perhaps the first time in his life, to the Astrals, to Eos, to any divine entity that would listen that he would see Cindy again after all this is over. He finally reached her location and took a deep breath, his anxiousness slowly eating away at him.

"Cindy, I believe we should talk."

"Sure thing Iggy! What do you want to about?"

"About Altissia, we're going to assist Noct in forming a covenant with the Leviathan and we are almost certain that the Empire will attempt to interfere with our efforts."

"That sounds…scary."

"I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't afraid of what's going to happen on our journey." Ignis grabbed her hand and held on tight, shaking a bit. "There's more than a good chance that I, or any of us are going to return in one piece."

"No"

"I must apologize; I have to tell you the truth."

"No Ignis promise me that I'll see you again!"

"Cindy, you know that that is a promise I cannot make, please listen-"

"No you listen! I lost enough people in my life! Just…Just promise me that I'll see you again."

Cindy's pleas shook Ignis to his very core, how could he disappoint such a wonderful person? He knew that she would be waiting for him after all this is over and he cannot afford to let her down. With renewed Vigor he clasped both of her hand into is and he made his declaration.

"Cindy Aurum, I promise you that I will see you after we defeat the empire and save the Kingdom!"

"Thank you, Ignis. This means a lot to me." Cindy crushed the Adviser and planted a passionate kiss upon his lips. She knew that this was going to be the last time she would see him in a while, so she made every agonizingly intense moment of their mutual connection as wonderful as possible. When they finally broke the kiss Ignis spoke.

"Since you forced me to make a promise, then it is only fair that I force you to make one."

"Alright, what do ya want me to do?"

"When we arrive back here, I want to see you smile. I find tears a tad too cliché. Your gorgeous face with a genuine smile planted on it will be a sight for sore eyes."

"We've got a deal!"

After one final farewell, Ignis left his girlfriend to embark on the journey of the lifetime. His friends greeted him with open arms as he arrived on the seafaring vessel provided by Luna. Cid tapped him on his shoulder before the old soldier took the wheel. "You best not die on our little trip, glasses! My granddaughter is all I have, and if you die then she's gonna complain about it nonstop!" he said with a low chuckle. "But seriously, she really likes you. And I don't think she ever saw her crush on a man before. In fact, before you came along I was going to tell that I was okay with the fact that she is a lesbi-"

"I think you are divulging too much information, Sir Sophiar."

"Ha, Sir Sophiar! I haven't been called by that dumb title since I was traveling with Reggie and rest of the boys!"

"As much as I'd hate to cut off this nostalgia fest, we're gonna need you to dive the boat old man." Gladio said, lightly mocking the aged mechanic.

"Relax kid, Gods you are _definitely_ Clarus' kid. He was always too worried about keeping everything on track, just like you!"

"Yeah, when your job is to protect royalty; you get a little bit antsy!"

"Alright, I'll get to the driving. Just don't try to talk to me while I'm on the wheel. Unlike you kids, I don't like Smalltalk while I'm doing something!" Yelled Cid

"Fine by us, grandpa!" Gladiolus hollered back.

"Aren't you being kind of a dick, dude?"

"Not really Prompto, Cid gave me so much shit when I was training to become a guard. I'm just repaying the favor."

The boat ride towards Altissia was lengthy, which ratcheted up the already high tensions of the group. Gladiolus and Ignis were busy painstakingly combing through the map of the city to plan attack and escape routes for the team. Meanwhile Iris was attempting to ease her boyfriend out of his terrible sea sickness. Prompto was calibrating his camera to prepare for all the sights he intends to see in Altissia.

"Man, from what I've heard about Altissia, my inner photographer is going to die of hype!"

"Calm down Prompto. Before we do any of that, we must locate Weskham Armaugh."

"Isn't that one of my dad's old friends?" Noctis questioned in between bouts of gagging and hurling whatever he ate into the depths of the ocean.

"You would be correct, Noct. He wants to assist us in taking down the Empire, evidently he's feeling nostalgic."

"Where would he be?" asked Gladio

"He runs a restaurant in the city, apparently it's quite decadent."

"Lookin' for some inspiration towards your future Iggy?" Gladio teased

"Nonsense Gladio, after we are done with are quest, I intend to continue to advise Noctis as he rules over Lucis."

"Just cause you're helping me doesn't mean that you can't run a business on the side! I mean, it's not like you're going to lose all you cooking skills anytime soon."

"I hope you don't, as much as I like Cup Noodles, I don't wanna eat that all day every day" Prompto added.

"That would be a dream come true." Gladio wistfully declared.

"Ugh, do guys really rely on Ignis to cook for you?" Iris yelled at the three men.

"Pretty much, yeah." Noctis replied candidly "Why, do you know how to cook?"

"While I may not be as fancy as Ignis, I'm a pretty decent chef."

"I can attest to that." Gladio said to pile evidence towards his sister's skills "No offense Iggy, but my little sis got you beaten in desserts."

"None taken, I'm actually happy to know someone else that I could share my passion with. If I recall correctly, Iris could make that Tenebraen pastry that Noctis is so fond of."

"Yeah! That's so awesome! Gods Iris, it's been forever since you last made it."

"Alright, I'll make some of that custard after we're done with this mission."

"Might as well turn our little "victory dinner" into a full blown party, lil sis."

"We should invite Cor, Aranea, Nyx and Luna too! Then you could apologize for thinking Luna was a bitch that was trying to steal me from you!" quipped Noctis.

"I never called her a "bitch" Noct!"

"Yeah, but you were hoping she was…"

"Shut Up! Besides, I want to invite her and Nyx. I want to see how they're like. I only met Luna once and I never got to meet Nyx in person."

"Nyx eh? He was me and Iggy's senior back in the royal academy. He was pretty chill back then. I'm not saying we were super close, he graduated the same year we started. Isn't that right, Iggy?"

"Ah Nyx, he was quite the soldier. He was good enough to make it into the King's Glaive. From what I can recall, he was fond of making healing potions and magic elixirs."

"You ever think he ever brewed any hard drugs?"

"Gladio, this is not the time to talk about any of that"

"Yeah, Iggy's right! It's the time to talk about the victory party! What kind of food are we going to make? What sort of drinks are we going to ge-"

"Let's save the party talk until _after_ we fulfill our goals, Prompto. We won't have to wait long, we're already here. Isn't that right, old man?"

"Yeah we're here Clarus Jr. Now get of this boat so I can enjoy a nice long smoke."

"Smoking that shit will kill ya, old man."

"That's what my granddaughter keeps tellin' me!"

The group departed from the relative comfort of their boat to walk the streets of the unfamiliar city. While they knew the goal at hand, it was impossible for them to not take in the beautiful sights and sounds of Altissia. Prompto wasted an entire SD card taking pictures of various landmarks. Noctis was edging Noctis towards various shops all the while the King was trying his best to pretend to not be interested. Ignis was surveying different food stops to see what he could cook up if they ever come back and Gladio was just enjoying the walk. Their enjoyment was soon cut short when they spotted Luna and Nyx at the center of the town.

"Before we discuss our plans, let me just say I am grateful for all of you for partaking in this mission."

"We should save the thanks for later, after we do our stuff." Chimed Gladio

"Alright then, I wouldn't want to appear selfish but Noctis and I are integral in forming a covenant with the Tide-mother and we're going to be the Empire's top priority. Gladiolus, Ignis, and Nyx are going to be the first line of defense against the empire in the outer rim of the city."

"Alright, I get to kick ass with my juniors from the Royal Academy! Time to show ol' Nyx how much you've grown!"

"As I was saying, Prompto and Iris are going to stick close to us if any Imperial forces slip by you."

Ignis added to Lady Lunafreya's plan of attack with some of his own Trump cards. "Aranea will be flying across the battlefield in her ship; she will bottleneck the Empire and keep them on their toes. The Marshall and his band of hunter will accompany her and handle any large mechas. Weskham and Cid also want to join our battle and despite their rather "advanced" age, they can still fight."

"Damn, we might actually pull this off." Quipped the prince."

"I'm feeling rather hopeful myself, Noct. Alright, the plan starts tomorrow at dawn let's all set up our radio so we can communicate."

 _ ***The Battle Begins***_

Ignis and Gladio were effortlessly slicing and stabbing MTs as they exited off the ship. In the distance they spotted Noctis flying about with the full power of his ancestors around him. Great lightning bolts littered the sky and battered Leviathan and they both knew that Luna was the cause of that. Noctis' recent power surge was affecting them as well as they felt their strength, speed, and defense increase a hundred fold. Not only that, but the duo realized that they can now switch weapons on the fly a lot faster than before and warp just like their King. Gladio found himself blocking heavy artillery with his shield than instantly switching to his great sword and destroying tens of troopers in one blow. Ignis threw his spear at his enemies, warped and finished off the remaining troops with his rapid knife attacks."

"Damn, I could get used to this power."

"I don't think you should, Gladio. I fear Noctis will not be able to maintain his ancestor's power for long."

Prompto was holed in the tallest building in Altissia performing two vital roles. His impeccable sharpshooting skills let him snipe pilots while they were flying, bringing down entire platoons by himself. His shooting skills paled in comparison to his observational skills though; with his eyes on the entire battlefield he could inform everyone else if they are need elsewhere. Right now he is telling Aranea that there was a squad of MTs trying to ambush Luna in an alleyway. On Dragoon Jump later and the squad was reduced to ash.

Iris and Nyx kept close to Luna in case any troopers made it past their defense. Nyx was haphazardly warping around the battlefield while grinding down Imperial forces with his kukris. Iris opted for a different approach. Cor's greatest disciple struck down troops mercilessly with her katana. She aimed to decapitate the daemon derived soldiers to make sure they stayed down. Occasionally she would have to settle with removing a limb or two but she made up for it by crushing the crawling soldier's head under her boot.

"Holy shit, the last time I saw you were still obsessed with colouring books, when did you get so terrifying?" questioned Nyx.

"Let's just say Cor is a great teacher!"

"Figures, should have known by your katana skills. I gotta say, I'm going to feel sorry for any guy breaks your heart."

"I'll tell Noctis that you're worried about him."

"Wait a minute, you and the King are an item?!"

"Yup, speaking of item, I forgot to congratulate you and Luna for hooking up. I should really apologize to her for thinking she was a terrible person"

"Why would you think that?"

"Well she _was_ slated to marry the person I loved the most."

"Trust me; she wasn't too hot on the idea to marry Noctis either. If there's positive I gotta spin out of this shit-show is that the sorry excuse of "peaceful relations" between Niflheim and Lucis is thrown out the window."

"Yeah, the wedding is off! Although I am sad that Luna's beautiful dress is gonna go to waste. Hey, maybe she could wear it when she gets married to you!"

"I'm gonna go with a hard pass on that idea."

"Aww, why?"

"Luna's not a fan of marriage. Calls it an "archaic institution" or somethin' like that. If I had to guess it's because she was groomed to marry someone since she was a kid."

"Yeah…makes sense. Hey, is it me or is this fight getting easier." Iris questioned as she ripped an MT's heart of its chest with her bare hands.

"Looks like you're right. Strange, Luna's brother is usually the commander whenever a full scale magitek invasion happens. Where the hell is he?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to endanger Luna."

"I doubt that guy cares. The fucking empire kills his mother and he joins them!"

The flagship of the empire was in complete disarray. Generals observed the chaos down below in awe and disbelief. They were shocked that a small band of warriors could defeat the full force of the imperial army. Granted, they did lose control of the daemons that were integral to the invasion of Lucis. Not helping the matter is the fact that General Ravus was refusing to partake in the battle.

"Please, General! Our men are being massacred out there!"

"You're men are nothing more than twisted freaks!"

"With them fighting our battles, we won't have to sacrifice people!"

"Yes, instead you harvest babies and forcibly develop them into merciless killing machines! That is _much more_ humane. Science Counselor Verstael developed robots to fight our battles and when he refused to partake in your disgusting experiments you locked him up!"

"I suggest you do your part and help the _glorious_ empire in this battle, little boy" the slimy tones of Ardyn's voice filled the room. "Or you might experience a fate _far worse_ than your mother's."

Raising his blade from its scabbard, Ravus Furiously yelled at the chancellor "IF YOU MOCK MY MOTHER ONE MORE TIME I WI-"He never got to finish his threat. For a blade that bore a striking resemblance to the one Ravus pilfered from King Regis' body struck him in the gut.

"Regis'…sword? But…how?"

"Let's just say I have more secrets than your fragile mind could hold. I would have let you lived, your pathetic devotion to your honour was almost charming at times, but alas, you grew a _bit_ too big for you britches. Enjoy Death!"

Scanning the room full of shocked and terrified generals and commanders Ardyn made a statement "do dispose of this one's body, as for our little problem? I will handle it personally."

The Chancellor watched Ignis and Gladiolus valiantly fight off a squad of troopers and began to devise a plan. "Hmm, the one in the glasses told me he only wore them to see the world in full clarity. I think it's time for him to rely on his other senses!" He fired a blast of magic at a building near the two allies to divide them and moved in to strike.

"Gladio? Are you alright?"

"He's alright, I wish I could say the same about you…"

"The Chancellor? The empire must be in dire straits if they're sending you to do their dirty work!"

"We shall see…"

Ardyn gracefully parried Ignis' spear strikes with his sword. He was surprised when the younger man warped up in attempt to strike from above. "He got used to warping quickly" Ardyn thought. Their blades clashed furiously in a stalemate.

"I have to say Ignis; this is probably the best fight I've had in _ages_. It almost makes me feel bad"

"Well, I see we are more evenly matched than I've anticipated"

"Oh really? Pity that this is the last thing you're going to see!"

'What do you mean by th- ARGH" The world around Ignis turned black as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Next stop, Lady Lunafreya. The most difficult part of my plan…"

Nyx and Iris spotted the chancellor coming from a mile away. Both were a little shocked that the empire sent out Ardyn of all people. "Hey mind if I kill Ardyn for a bit, Iris? Damn bastard annoyed the hell out of me back in Lucis."

"Sure…just be careful! Something doesn't feel right about all this"

Nyx performed a warp strike on Ardyn and was taken aback when the Chancellor blocked his strike effortlessly. "What the hell was that?"

"Ugh, you're not nearly as interesting as Ignis."

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO IGNIS YOU BASTARD?!" Nyx punctuated his rant with a flurry of stabs, each one blocked by Ardyn.

"I don't have time to do battle with such a _boring_ character" Ardyn's grabbed Nyx mid strike and slammed him into the marble floor of Altissia. He proceeded to effortlessly decapitate the dazed Glaive. "That was Regis' Royal Guard? It's a wonder he lived as long as he did…"

Luna knew something wrong just transpired. She sensed Nyx's soul fade away from the mortal plane. She informed Noctis that she was leaving and investigated the last place she sensed Nyx. To her horror she saw Ardyn with the headless corpse of Nyx at his feet.

"You must be Lady Lunafreya. The King's future wife, I know you may not believe me but I don't want to harm you. I understand the pain of losing one's beloved…"

"You monster! The man I loved is lying at your feet!"

"Oh…really? This is going to be much easier than!"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

Faster than she could process, Ardyn somehow teleported in front of her, she briefly wondered if Ardyn could warp but she knew that was impossible. After all, it was only the Lucian Royal family and those they deem worthy that had the power to warp. Her thoughts were cut off when a dagger pierced her gut. Luna instinctively grabbed Ardyn's hands and was shocked that her healing powers activated.

"You're…a daemon?"

"I am beyond any mere daemon, my dear."'

"Please…let me help you!"

"I am beyond your help, and to tell you the truth I am the one helping you at the moment."

"Please stop, I need to help those afflicted by the Starscourge!"

"How selfless! You've just been stabbed by a madman and all you can think about is the countless people who will suffer if you die. This is the reason why you must fall. I cannot let another soul go through the torment that I lived through. Your death at my hands is a mercy. For ages I have wond-ARGHH"!

His rant was cut off as a katana rammed into his throat. Ardyn looked at the attacker with the eyes of a beast, but his face softened in confusion when he realized it was the girl that hung on Noctis like a lovesick puppy. He rapidly regenerated his wounds and began to introduce himself "Uh…hello? You're the younger sister of the man who refuses to wear a shirt, Iris was it? I didn't know you could fight! This day is full of surprises! To tell you the truth I'm shocked that you rushed to the defense of Lady Lunafreya, isn't she the bride to be of the one you love?"

"Shut up and die already, you freak!" Iris shrugged off Ardyn's attempt of manipulations with another slice. Ardyn panicked for a second before dodging her blows. The Chancellor was more than a bit angry that his manipulative nature (one that he honed for eons) was having little effect on the young upstart. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to go the cruel route. So undignified."

Ardyn spammed his warp techniques to disorient Iris. She figured that he would behind him and she turned around while preparing for a finishing blow. The figure behind her surprised her so much that she dropped her blade in shock. It was…herself? Iris was caught unawares of Ardyn's ability to assume someone else's form. In her confusion she failed to see Ardyn stab her in the gut as he did with Luna. With his mission done, the Chancellor left the scene as quickly as he arrived.

Noctis felt the satisfaction of victory as Leviathan allowed the King to rule of her. The high of his victory was soon lost to him as he realized that Luna was gone longer than expected. The King quickly ran towards Luna's trident, which was still glowing with an ethereal light. What he saw shocked him to his core.

Both Luna and Iris lay in the throes of death. Blood was gushing on to the floor, painting the marble in a deep scarlet tinge. Just a short distance away was Nyx's decapitated body. Noctis fought the urge to vomit at the sight of this grisly scene. He knew that Nyx was beyond his help but he could save Luna and Iris if he used the ring. Noctis fumbled around pockets until he found the Ring of the Lucii. He took a deep breath and put on the ring. Noctis felt his body die and reincarnate a thousand times in a span of second before he was transported in a strange realm where the previous kings and queens were staring at him with disdain.

"Kings of Lucis, I need your help!"

" **WE WILL DECIDE IF YOU ARE WORTHY, BOY! WHAT IS YOUR REQUEST?!"**

"I need to save Luna and iris' lives. I know you can help me so please grant my request!"

" **VERY WELL, WE SHALL SAVE HER LIFE."**

"Thank you so much for your Kindness. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to re-"

" **DO NOT BE TOO QUICK TO THANK US YOUNG KING. YOU HAVE LIVED A PRIVILEGED EXISTENCE. YOU MUST FIRST LEARN HUMILITY!"**

"What…what do you mean?"

" **YOU MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN THE ONE YOUR HEART BELONGS TO AND THE ONE WHO COULD HELP YOU DEFEAT THE SCOURGE!"**

"What?! I can't choose between the two!"

" **THAT IS NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE! NOW WILL YOU CHOOSE WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR PEOPLE OR WHAT IS BEST FOR YOURSELF?"**

Noctis sighed as he powered up the ring. He knew what had to be done.

Elsewhere Gladio was combing through the rubble to look for Ignis. To his relief he saw Ignis fumble around a short distance away from him.

"Yo Iggy, I'm thankful that you're still alive. I was prepared for the worst when we were separated." The bigger man looked towards the now bright and sunny sky and smiled. "Huh, it looks like Noct and Luna defeated Leviathan. So…Mission accomplished I guess?"

"That's great Gladio! I do have to admit that I was knocked out, for far longer than I expected. It's already dark out! I can't see anything! Can you please turn your light on?"

"Ignis, what are you talking about? It's a beautiful day outside!"

The Count turned his face towards his companion to reprimand him for his jokes. "Ha-ha, very funny Gladio but please turn on your light."

Gladiolus recoiled in horror when he saw the scars that travelled along his best friend's face "Iggy…your eyes!"

"What's wrong?" Ignis ran his hands across his face and was horrified when he felt scar tissue around his eyes.

"Something blinded you man! Do you know what could have done it?

"Well I was engaged in combat with the chancellor before I lost consciousness. I think we should retreat into a safe haven before we continue our conversation."

"Yeah…let's call Aranea for a lift. I just hope your condition isn't permanent."

"I do too."

A couple of hours later, Gladio found himself sitting in the infirmary of the Hunters HQ. Ignis was getting his condition checked, he had hoped for the best but things were looking bleak. His eye caught Noctis, who was carrying his sister in his arms. The Shield rushed towards the both of them. He knew that Iris was grown up but she was still the only family he had left and he wasn't going to lose her!"

"Noctis! What the hell happened to Iris?!"

"She's alright…just knocked out for a bit. I think we have a bigger problem though.

"What?"

"Luna and Nyx are dead."

 ***this chapter was a pain to write. I am really bad at writing action scenes! I made Prompto's dad a more heroic figure than he was in game. Also Noct chose the selfish option! How will the world deal with his actions?***


	9. Chapter 9-Aftermath

He was blind. Ignis sat in the waiting room of the Hunter HQ for what seemed like an eternity. He didn't want to accept the fact that his vision, his view of the world was gone. Yes, the doctors said that his right eye will most likely regain its vision in due time but that didn't ease his discomfort. The most positive outcome that can be had from his injury is that he would only be half blind. He gripped the damned cane that was given to him in fury. To be reduced to relying on such an archaic tool made his blood boil. He was shaken from his self-pitying session when he heard a familiar drawl.

"Yes, is Ignis Scientia here?"

"He is currently in the waiting room of our infirmary. May I ask your relation to him?"

Gladio stepped in to give Cindy some leeway "It's alright Diane, Cindy here is Iggy's girl"

"Is that so? Well I'm sorry for keeping you waiting"

"It's no problem mam." Cindy turned towards Gladio "Wanna see Iggy with me?" She didn't notice Gladio's face scrunch up in discomfort. "Maybe later, I gotta check up on Iris."

Cindy stepped in the room Ignis was in and she gasped in a combination of shock and pity. Here he was, the most independent and reliable man she knew, broken beyond belief. He was slumped on the uncomfortable looking chair with both hands gripping his cane. He looked like the life was sucked away from him. She called to him and he looked up. Cindy could see that while he _was_ technically looking at her, his eyes were just _staring_ off in the distance. Scars scattered across his face making it look like he was perpetually frowning.

"Ignis, your eyes…"

"Uh…it is merely a flesh wound. Nothing to be worried about" Ignis attempted to stand up to prove his independence but he ended tripping in falling. Luckily for him, Cindy caught him in her arms. To his surprise he already felt his other senses improving due to the absence of his sight. He could her hands grab unto his bare arms, they were rough from the work she always seemed to be doing. A far cry from the smooth hands he had expected from a woman, but what was Cindy but unexpected? He loved her for that. She smelt of freshly welded metal and engine grease instead of a typical perfume. That he appreciated less but it was still unique. The Count finally spoke to his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry…for breaking my promise. I didn't exactly come back in one piece."

"Shut up you stupid asshole! I'm just glad you're alive" her words were punctuated by tears.

"Look at me…I made you promise to smile when I came back and I can't even see your gorgeous face. It looks like I'm not fit to be the Adviser for the king."

"Oh Ignis, you're too hard on yourself. By the way, what happened to you?"

"I'm not fully aware myself. One minute I was fighting the chancellor and the next I was blacked out."

"That Izunia guy? He could fight?"

"It looks like he could fight better than the lot of us because apparently he killed Luna and Nyx and wounded Iris."

"WHAT!? How the hell did he do that?"

"I don't know, but from what I can infer, killing Luna will have dire consequences. I may be able to see the sky anymore but I heard the days are getting shorter."

"Yeah, the sun sets at like 3:30 now. If the keeps up than we will have no mornings to wake up to!"

"And the daemons will be able to run rampant throughout the land."

Meanwhile in the other side of the infirmary, Iris jolted awake. Noctis was by her side and made sure she didn't get up too fast and hurt herself. "Iris you're alright! Thank Eos you're still alive!"

"Noctis, I was…dead. I knew it, I felt my life fading. The last thing I saw was Lady Lunafreya dying right next to me. What happened to her?"

After a moment of hesitation Noctis told her…a big fat lie. "She succumbed to her wounds and died, Nyx is dead too. Looks like the last thing Luna did was try to heal, I finished the job and got to her. Unfortunately, her wounds were much worse than yours."

"Noctis, what are we going to do without Luna?"

"We're going to go the capital of Niflheim and take back the crystal. It's not going to be easy but it's the only option we have left."

Outside the HQ Gladio, Aranea, Cor, and Prompto were discussing what just happened.

"So you're saying Nyx and Luna are dead?" Cor was furious that their plan fell apart.

"Yeah and it was all caused by my former boss- the creep in the fedora."

"That's strange, I saw everything from my perch and I didn't see Ardyn at all! If I did I would have popped him in the head with a bullet!"

"We all knew that we might not make through the fight but losing Noct or Luna was a big no-no for us. We lost one half of the Starscourge fighting team and a good fighter and mentor in Nyx. Not to mention my best friend is now blind!"

"We all know that this means that Ignis will have to sit out the rest of your quest, right? There is no way that he's going to go to Gralea with you guys. I will take his place instead; it won't hurt to have two katana wielders in your little gang, would it?

"Since I'm good with lances, I will train Ignis to re-learn how to fight."

"Well the doctors said that he's gonna regain the use of his right eye in a couple of months." Said Prompto

"That's great. So when the guy gets his sight back he'll be even better!"

"Oh Gods we are hopeless" said Cor through a sigh

"Yup" chirped Prompto .


	10. Chapter 10-Train Ride

The train ride through the empire's land was…surreal. Noctis, Iris, and Gladio had never set foot in Niflheim territory before their trip to Altissia and Prompto only spent his infancy there before his father shipped him off to Lucis. Cor was the only member of the team who been to Niflheim, as he fought with the late king countless times in the frontlines.

"Is this train…really taking us to Gralea?" Iris spoke, she felt a little uncomfortable with the Silence.

"Not Quite. This train is going to Tenebrae, where Aranea's men and some Niflheim army defectors will pick up the civilians to head to Lucis. Biggs and Wedge will be the ones to drive us to the heart of the empire." Cor showed no visible signs of stress with his answer. If the group didn't know any better, they would have thought that this was going according to plan.

"I can't believe this!" Bellowed the burly great sword wielder "We're just going to stroll into the capital of Niflheim like we're gonna ask to borrow some sugar?!"

"Apparently, my old home is in some deep crap." Prompto looked out the window with a mix of disgust and sorrow. "Tell 'em what you told me, Cor"

All eyes were on the Marshall as he regaled the gang with an untold amount of information. "According to some of the defectors, Niflheim is in some deep shit. There's a Daemon infestation the likes of which they've never seen. Turns out that messing with daemon DNA to replace your tried and true mechanical soldiers isn't the smartest decision. Prompto, Loqi told me that your dad is still at Gralea. He's controlling the remaining robot soldiers to get every civilian to safety."

"Well, I never actually got to see my dad, guess it's time to thank him for shipping me off to Lucis. I hope he doesn't die before we get there."

"Don't worry, Loqi told me that he and some generals are helping him try to quell whatever is happening there. Apparently, the Emperor and Ardyn are holed up in Zegnautus Keep; nobody wants to go in there because an inordinate amount of daemons made their home in the keep but the two are now criminals in Niflheim."

"Geez, that sounds rough, isn't the crystal in Zegnautus keep, Noct? You think we can survive all those daemons and take it back?" Iris was clinging onto Noct's shoulder. The girl was confidant in her abilities but she knew that they were in over their heads.

"Well sis, we might have a chance if Noct decides to put on the ring that Luna gave him." The shield shot a nasty look at Noct, furious that he let Luna die.

"Look, I don't want to put the ring on any earlier than I have to, Nyx almost died when he put on the ring! I don't want to risk it yet.

"Bullshit" Gladiolus was furious at Noct now. Maybe it was because he let Luna die or maybe because the big guy was finally releasing all his bottled up emotions. His father died and his little sister almost met the same fate but he didn't let his emotions get in the way of his duty. Right now, the Shield was releasing all his frustrations out on the King. "You know that you could put on the ring anytime because you're royalty! If you would have manned up and put on the ring before the big battle than maybe none of this shit would have happened! Luna and Nyx would still be here and my best friend and the man who took care of you would still have his eyesight! You always had a knack for pussying away from your duties Noct; it's good to know that you haven't changed much since you were a shitty little kid. It's time to man up and become a King, you coward!

At this point Cor and Iris went to the dining car to avoid the drama. Iris was too heartbroken to hear any of this and Cor just wanted to get away from the whining. Prompto opted to stay; he felt that he needed to reigns his friends in, in case things got out of hand. Noctis noticed the departure of Cor and Iris and finally told Gladio the truth about what happened.

"You know what, Gladio? You're right that I'm a coward, I hid the truth to protect you."

"The fuck are you talking about?"

"Iris wasn't just injured, she fucking died! I put on the ring then to try to save them, but my forefathers forced me to pick one. Do you know how hard it is to choose to save a life at the expense of another? I chose Iris because I was a selfish asshole! I may have screwed the world over because I couldn't let go of my damn emotions! I'm a shitty King, God Damn It! There I admit it, Is that good enough for you?!"

Gladio didn't know how to respond. If Noct would have told him the truth beforehand he would have never the rant he just did. To think that for a moment, his entire family was dead terrified Gladio. The big man put his head in his hands and started bawling.

"Fuck Noct…I didn't know all that happened. Gods man, I'm so sorry that I blew up at you like that. I was at my limit and I just exploded. My baby sister…was dead? I can't handle this."

"It's cool dude, I do need to act more like a king. With Luna gone, I'm the only one who could stop the Starscourge and take back everything." Noctis put on the ring and he felt _everything._ Eons of trials and tribulations raced through his head as the wisdom and experience of all the past Kings flowed in him. Untold amounts of power seeped through his very being. Even with all that power, Noct knew that he was only receiving a fracture of his family's collective strength. The Crystal needed to be felt by the hands of the King or Queen for them to receive its blessing.

"Holy shit, this is awesome!"

"I take it that you got the powers of the king right now, eh champ?"

"Heh, not enough Gladio! Once I put my hands on the crystal I'll become even stronger and I can even share my power with all you guys!"

"How the hell do you know that?"

"One of the ghost kings told me that…Wow, they are talkative! They really want me to kill Ardyn!"

"Noct, you sound insane" the blonde gunmen deadpanned his thoughts on his friend's new gift.

"Yeah, they think so too. So from now on they collectively agree to only talk with me if I ask for advice."

"How convenient, speaking of conveniences it's good that you won't have to keep up that wall like your dad had to."

"My old man wasted his years keeping up that damn thing and it didn't do shit in the end. Hell, according to most of the people we on our road trip, it caused a lot of people outside the crown city to hate our guts. I'm not going to waste my time and energy keeping a wall up and letting everyone outside Insomnia to fight for themselves."

"Damn, Noct! Getting' bold once you put on the ring? Isn't your dad in that thing?"

"Yup, in fact he's agreeing with me right now! What? You thought I'd say all that shit without running it by him first? I still love my old man, Gladio."

"Five minutes ago, Gladio was going to rip ya a new one, Noct and now you two are buddy-buddy again. Unbelievable! Can we please tell Iris and Cor to come back now?"

"Yeah, but don't tell them about sacrificing Luna to save Iris. It'll be our secret for now."

"Whatever, your majesty"

Iris and Cor returned to their car when Prompto told them that the drama was over. Cor was impressed that they cooled down after about five minutes and Iris was just happy that it was over.

"So…you and my brother are cool now?"

"Yeah were cool…I can't afford to let Gladio hate me, after all I am dating his _beautiful_ sister." The king smirked when he saw the blush on his girlfriend's cheeks. Noticing his smugness, Iris decided to inject some wit of her own.

"Pfft…Of course you can't afford to lose me. No other girl would want to deal with your…*ahem*, _lack of experience_. It was now Noct's turn to blush. Thankfully, Cor interrupted their little conversation.

"Hey iris, I managed to convince the chef on the train to let you cook our meals. Get to it, I hate airline food."

"Cor, we're on a train."

"I know what I said."

"Okay then, Gladio and Prompto, would you guys like to help me?"

"You got my help, sis."

"Gladio? Cooking? _I got to see this!_ I'm game too, Iris!"

"I would love to help you guys cook, but I gotta know what the hunters are up to. Monica should fill me up to speed."

"Damn Cor, phone sex on a train? That's crazy!"

"Shut up Noctis. Why don't you help with the cooking?"

"I'm a terrible cook, so I'll just walk around so I don't ruin the food."

Noctis left the car they were in to see the rest of the train. All around him he saw scared families; most of them were refugees from Altissia. The weight of his failure crept up on him again; if he had succeeded then these people would still be in their homes. He looked up towards the darkening sky and then down to his watch. It read 3:00, it wouldn't be long until darkness engulfs the land and the daemons will run free. He was shocked from his train of thought when he saw a familiar figure walk past him.

"It can't be…Ardyn?"

 ***meanwhile at the hunter HQ***

Ignis deftly dodged a flurry of spear attacks from the Dragoon. Aranea was impressed that Ignis could go considering he was blinded a week before. She found an opening and performed a leg sweep on the blind man, breaking his stance.

"You're pretty good for a blind guy, Specs!"

"You don't need to lie to me, Miss Highwind. I fell prey to your leg sweep. If I was fighting an actual battle, I surely would have perished."

"Geez dude, you're fucking blind! Just take my praise! Yo Cindy, how do you deal with this guy?"

"He's just mad that he can't help his friends retrieve the crystal. But thanks again for training him to fight without his eye, Aranea."

"It's no problem, I'm just happy I found someone else who could appreciate the true power of the spear! Besides, we made a deal. I teach him how to fight again and he'll re-learn to cook and teach me."

"Oh Gods, he's got you into his cooking classes too?"

"I'm afraid so. At least I'll have some good company unlike Mr. Spear up his ass here" Both of the women shared a mutual laugh at Ignis' stern personality.

"Ha ha, very funny. If you two are done laughing, please follow me. It's time to cook."


	11. Chapter 11-Prompto

"You son of a bitch! You did this!"

Noctis rammed Ardyn against the wall. This was it; he had the fucking Chancellor in the palm of his hands. This was the man who killed Luna, Nyx, and for a brief moment, Iris too. This was the piece of shit that reduced his home, the city of Insomnia to rubble. All he had to do was kill Ardyn for vengeance and justice, so why did he hesitate? Was it because there were other people on this train and he didn't want to look like a cold-blooded murderer? No, that couldn't be it. Noctis never cared what others thought of him. There is just something _not right_ about this situation.

"Noct, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about you killing my friends, and destroying my home!"

Noctis was furious when he saw Ardyn's face contort in confusion. Was the Chancellor really that monstrous that he doesn't care about all the pain and misery he had wrought on the people of Lucis? Once again, Noctis' rage took over him

"Don't tell me you forgot about all this shit you caused!"

"Look Noct, I'm sorry that I couldn't keep a look out on Luna and Nyx but I don't know what you're talking about messing up Lucis!"

"What?!"

An explosion knocked the king off his feet and onto the floor. It looked like the Empire found out where they were at. The King looked out the window and was shook when he saw the amount of airships that were on their location. It soon became apparent that piece of shit Ardyn disappeared in the confusion. From out of nowhere, Prompto appeared and helped him up.

"Looks like the emperor found us, you ready to eliminate some Nifs?"

"Yeah, but…did you see where Ardyn went?"

"That guy is here? That would actually explain why the train stopped and the ships overhead."

"Wow, you sound more…composed."

"Well, with Ignis gone, somebody has to reign in on your debauchery."

"Hmph, you even sound like specs now."

"What can I say? I'm good at impressions. Gladio, Cor, and Iris are in the engine room, so I guess it's up to us to fight them here."

"Huh, you're right. Kinda sucks that I can't fight alongside my girlfriend, but hey! What are you gonna do? Am I right?"

For a brief moment, Noctis saw his friend's face morph into a confused glance. Did Prompto really forget that he and Iris were in a relationship? Prompto was never really successful with women but even he wasn't that clueless!

"Uh, hello, earth to Prompto"

"what?"

"Did you actually forget that I'm dating Iris?"

"What? No! I'm just kind of shocked that you would be thinking about the Shield's little sister at a time like this!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The duo stepped out of the train and were greeted with the usual suspects- a bevy of magitek platoons and a couple of mechs. Luckily for them, the mechs were off their game due to the fact that most of the human pilots defected from the empire. Noctis used the fight for an opportunity to test out the latest Royal Arm he received, the katana of the warrior. The blade's lightning fast warp strikes coupled with Noctis' natural inclination towards teleportation made his end of the fight a breeze. Out of the corner of his eye the King saw Prompto going to town with his pistol skills. It was as if Prompto's personality took a 180 degree turn. The blonde was shooting and killing troopers without batting an eye, which was a far cry from his usual habits of tripping over himself while fighting. Noct could have sworn he never saw that model pistol in Prompto's armory. "Must have picked that one up after Altissia" the King reasoned to himself.

"Hey Noct! Take out those airships! One of them is bound to have an engine that powers these demonic soldiers!"

"How the hell did you find that out?"

"Just a hunch! And besides, we have to take those things out anyway; they're going to destroy the train!"

With a nod, Noctis boarded the first airship. It didn't have a magitek soldier powering engine but it did have a regular airship engine, so he blew that up and warped the hell away. He continued his little routine with the rest of the airships- warp, look for a soldier powering engine, destroy the ship, and warp out. Things almost settled until a comfortable rhythm until he reached the flagship. "I bet the engine is in that thing! Better load up my magic grenades." Noct warped to the final ship and attempted to look as cool as possible.

"Hi there guys" Noct threw a fire and lightning grenade towards the engine and warped away with a cheeky smile.

His victory was short lived when he saw Ardyn cornering Prompto and holding him up with a pistol. The king leaped into action and warped into the Chancellor. Only to realize that the man he knocked into the snowy wastes was his best friend.

"But…how?"

"Just as I said Noct, _I'm good at impressions"_ With a slimy chuckle, the Chancellor whacked Noctis in the back of the head with his pistol.

The king awoke from his slumber a couple minutes later, confused and horrified at what he had done. He frantically contacted Cor to tell him what happened.

"Cor! Prompto is down below, we have to get him!"

"We can't stop the train right now."

"The hell we can't! I am not leaving Prompto alone out there!"

"Calm down, one of our new allies from Niflheim contacted me saying they spotted him rolling down the hill. They told me they were going to pick him up. Your boy was lucky to fall right where Verstael is making robot troops to help us fight the magitek troopers. The troops will give him a jacket and a ride to Tenebrae to meet us there. How the hell did the kids fall off the train anyway? I know that he's clumsy but falling off a train?"

"Actually…I pushed him off…"

"You…WHAT?!"

"I'll explain it all in person; just let me get off the roof of this thing."

"Okay Noct, spill it"

"Well Gladio, Ardyn used some weird illusionary tactic to make me think he was Prompto and that Prompto was Ardyn. I knocked Prompto off the train thinking it was Ardyn."

"Is that you're excuse for knocking your friend off a train?! That you _thought he was someone else?_ " Gladio was furious at the King for potentially injuring an ally.

"Glady, please listen to Noct. Ardyn did a similar trick to me where he shape shifted or whatever into me and stabbed. That man is dangerous"

It was Cor's turn to add to the discussion "Yeah, wasn't he the guy who bested Ignis and killed Nyx and Luna? If so, he's a lot more dangerous than he appears. The next time any of you guys see him, call for backup before engaging him. For now let's get some rest and meet Blondie in Tenebrae."

Knowing they couldn't do anything else, the rest of the group reluctantly sat down and just waited for their stop.

Meanwhile, Prompto was rolling down a snow-covered mountain. After a terrifying couple of minutes, he finally hit even ground and sat up. He silently blessed his artificially strengthened body for dampening much of the impact of his tumble; if it was a 100% natural body he surely would have broken a few bones. Coming off the adrenaline rush of what just happened Prompto's body finally noticed the temperature.

"Fuck, its cold!"

Luckily for him a magitek ship with the Niflheim flag absent came down after him. Prompto knew that a missing flag meant that whoever was in there was a defector. To his surprise, Loqi came out with a winter coat, hat, and goggles in hand.

"Here, you are going to freeze to death in your current state. Cor informed me that you landed somewhere around here after a fight with the Empire. You are lucky that we were flying over to Verstael's lab to obtain his latest research and robot troops."

"Wait a minute, Verstael?"

"Yes, we won't be able to go immediately to your precious friends; I don't want to hear any complaining."

"No dude, Verstael is my dad…sort of, I am one of his clones that he sent to Lucis to live a normal life."

"Ah, that old coot did mention sending a clone away because he couldn't bear to see it turn into a demonic Magitek soldier."

"How could you work for such an evil Empire? I mean, turning babies into demonic soldiers? That just crosses the line twice!"

"It wasn't always like this. Verstael made robot foot soldiers so that fewer people had to die in our battles, then Ardyn came along and this whole nation went to hell! Come along, you get to meet your father."

The trip to Verstael's research lab was uneventful but Prompto noticed something odd. "How come there are no daemons here?"

"Ha, you have a keen eye, young one! It seems that daemons aren't fond of extreme temperatures. The only ones that appear in these parts are those who already use ice based attacks. We assume that similar logic applies to desert areas and fire based daemons."

"Thanks, and young one? Seriously? You shouldn't act all wise when you look like a pretty boy!"

"Listen up whelp, I am thirty years old and while that is young for a Brigadier General, know that I have years of experience and-"

"Calm down dude, I'm just messin' with ya! Hey look we're here!"

The crew (and Prompto) landed at the entrance of the facility and were greeted by two guards. After explaining why Prompto was accompanying the soldiers, they were let in without much hassle.

"Man this place is huge! And look at all these robot guards! Man I can't wait to meet my dad?"

"Do you ever slowdown? You also seem to have such a casual attitude towards meeting your father. He is afraid that you would hate him for abandoning you. Tell me, do you hate him?"

"Why the hell would I hate him sending me to a place where I _wouldn't_ be turned into a daemon soldier?"

"Good point."

Verstael greeted Loqi with open arms, but the sight of his "son" made him go pale.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"Loqi…you didn't tell me that-"

"That I was going to be here? Well I wasn't! I just got knocked off a train and ended up here, isn't that crazy? Well anyways, I'm doing fine, had a good life, yada, yada, yada don't feel any guilt for sending me off to Lucis. How are you doing?"

Verstael was taken aback with how casual Prompto was meeting him again after all these years. For several moments, he just stood there in silence.

"Helllllooooooo!? Is anyone in there? Come on dude, speak up!"

"What? Oh yes…well I am doing relatively fine all things considered. I just recently got out of prison because the fine men that occupy this facility decided to let me out. I was sent to jail for _daring_ to speak against Nifleheim's newfangled "demonic soldiers"! It was that Ardyn bastard, I tell you! He was the one who corrupted our once benevolent Emperor into a madman obsessed with the Lucian crystal!"

"Geez, this Ardyn guy seems like a real piece of work? Do you know anything about the Starscourge?"

"Yes, the plague seems mystical in nature. By that I mean it senses your emotions and past actions and judges you accordingly."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if you fully give into negative emotions or have done terrible deeds in the past, then you will turn into a daemon that befits the judgment the virus gives you. If you hold on to hope or if you are of moral character than you will just suffer the common cold for a few days than become immune to the effects of the plague. Everyone in this facility and our allies should be fine. Unfortunately Niflheim soldiers that stayed in Gralea who are still loyal to the Emperor are most likely daemons by now. And the magitek troopers are probably mutated beyond recognition."

"I hate to interrupt this nodding moment, but we need some robotic soldiers to take to Tenebrae and help evacuate the remaining people."

"Ah yes, my apologies Loqi. Prompto, I am sorry that our reunion was reduced to pure exposition. I wish you and your friends luck on your journey to retrieve the crystal. Be careful in Gralea, the whole place is _infested_.

"Will do! See ya later dude!"


	12. Chapter 12-Downtime

"Hey specs, I'm gonna be out for a while. Need to get to Tenebrae so Biggs and Wedge can take over the train for your crew."

"Safe Travels, Miss Highwind."

Aranea turned her head towards the mechanic who was struggling to sauté some vegetables and giggled a bit. She knew she shouldn't be laughing since she was an _even worse_ cook than Cindy but at least she gets to escape his cooking lessons. "And Cindy, make sure your man doesn't do anything reckless. He progressed amazingly but he's still not fit to go alone, no matter how much he says otherwise."

"Got it, Ari!"

After a quick hug from her newest (and first) female friend Aranea began to board her custom Cruiser. Aranea never really thought about having no female friends until recently, Rising through the ranks of the Niflheim army made her the one person without a Y-chromosome among her peers so she never really got a chance to make any girlfriends. It was refreshing to be honest, even though she adored Biggs and Wedge they wouldn't understand the difficulties of being a women in a men dominated profession, something Cindy knew all too well. "At least Cindy gets some alone time with glasses now" Aranea thought "Maybe people will finally stop the rumor that me and Ignis were dating (accept a potion from a man once…)"

"Oi, Lady A, what are ya thinking about?!" Wedge interrupted her thoughts

"Just hoping Spec doesn't mess his chance up with Cindy"

"Nah, he's a good lad. Smart too" Biggs added

"Wait, when did you two become such good friends with Ignis?"

"We talk about cooking all the time Lady A, While you spend your days getting' drunk with that burly tosser who doesn't wear a shirt Ignis, Wedge, and I exchange recipes. He always brags about having such a beautiful girl."

"Yeah, you got me there. Now get in dropship!"

The custom dropship flew past the horizon leaving Ignis, Cindy, and Cindy's ruined vegetables alone in her garage. The growing darkness made her business dwindle for most people. Most of them didn't want travel far now that the daemons had more time to roam around the country. Fortunately, the hunters' ranks increased exponentially since the events of Altissia. Turns out that when push comes to shove, people are all too eager to help out their fellow man, as the world was slowly going to hell camaraderie reigned supreme. Plus, they always came for repairs.

Unfortunately for Cindy, no amount of camaraderie could improve her terrible cooking skills. She winced when she caught the sight of Ignis visibly gagging in response to her veggies. "That bad, huh? Maybe we should forget the whole "learning to cook together" thing. I mean, you're already getting back in your groove, all you need is someone to hand you the materials and a familiar kitchen and I could somehow burn a bowl of cereal."

Ignis cut off her rant by gently holding her hand. It was kinda weird. While Ignis was certainly affectionate before, he was pretty calm and deadpan most of the time. After his injury, he relied on his other sense for the first time in a while and even if it sounded selfish, Cindy actually enjoyed. Asking her to guide him to the kitchen, using the sound of his voice to pinpoint where she was, all that was pretty adorable. Later on, when Ignis had gotten used to his disability and his cane she expected the contact to stop, but it never did. The contact between them in their daily lives stopped being a "can you help me move around?" thing and became "Oh Gods please help me deal with this!" thing and she was okay with that. It made her feel good that Ignis could rely on her, made her feel wanted. She squeezed his hand with hers to indicate that she was listening to him.

"You…always encouraged me to keep going while I was blind. If it weren't for your encouragement I would probably be wallowing in self-pity for the rest of my days." Ignis punctuated his remark with a small chuckle. "I'm not going to let you give up so easily, Cindy. It's against your nature to just roll over and accept defeat."

The blond let out a defeated sigh and relented to his request "All right, I'll keep up the practice. Just don't so shocked if I'm still bad ten years from now, ya hear!" She was a bit surprised when Ignis pulled her into a tight hug but then she remembered how he longed for any form of contact with his vision gone. The taller man broke the hug, a bit embarrassed with what he had done.

"Sorry about that, It seems that I got carried away" In response to his apology, Cindy pulled him into an even tighter hug and began whispering in his ear.

"Don't you go apologizin' for anything, Iggy. I know that ever since you lost your eyes you've been relying on your other senses. That's why I'm alright with all the touches that you've been given me, I understand that I'm your anchor, someone who will keep you afloat with all this unfair crap bein' thrown at you."

"Am I really that easy to read?"

"Nah, I'm just really perceptive. Also, I really don't mind the contact. In fact, I think we could both do with some _mutual contact_." With that said, Cindy moved Ignis' hands from the small of her back and onto her ass. Ignis couldn't help but instinctively squeeze the pert cheeks that he had inadvertently gripped but he still had some reservations about having sex right after the sentimental and incredibly emotional conversation that had just transpired.

"Should we really be doing this after the talk we just had? I'm not exactly opposed to sex with a gorgeous woman but-"He was cut off when Cindy placed a finger to his lips. While not a stranger to her touch, being blind made him appreciate his other senses, one of which was his sense of touch. He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that her hands were perfectly smooth, they weren't. They were slightly calloused from a lifetime of working in heavy machinery; it seems that work gloves could only protect her so much. Not that he cared about her imperfections, to him it was just another thing that made her unique.

"I heard when you lose a sense the rest get stronger, how does this feel Iggy?" The blonde proceeded to grind against Ignis' abdomen, no doubt stirring certain parts of his anatomy to awaken. She sort of felt bad for her teasing actions; he _is_ a blind man after all. But she could always make it up to him in her own way.

"I really hate the fact that I cannot see you at this moment." Cindy was surprised with the chuckle after said comment; she didn't think he was already at the "joking at the disability" phase of his injury. Then again, he was a fan of morbid humor, something they both had in common. The blonde grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom, intending to get his mind off his injury and into the gutter.

Ignis was a bit surprised when he realized that he was coerced into taking his shirt off, he was more than a bit surprised when he was roughly pushed onto the bed and heard Cindy unzip her jacket and unbutton her shorts (he was never more thankful for his enhanced hearing). Before he knew it, Cindy was crawling on top of him. She sat on his lap, deliberately grinding her hips against his just to tease him a bit more. He heard the tell-tale signs of a bra unclasping, the pain of not being able to see Cindy once again rearing its ugly head. Fortunately for him, the sound of Cindy's voice led him away from those thoughts. "I know you would rather look at these, but why don't' treat yourself to a handful?" The blond grabbed his hands and guided them to her chest. "Don't be shy now, got it?" Ignis abandoned any sense of his modesty and let his hands roam around her supple chest. He felt every pore of her flawless body beneath his sensitive hands. After a moment of searching, he managed to pinpoint where her nipples were and rolled her pert buds beneath his fingertips. Judging by her breathless gasps and words of encouragement, he was doing something right. Unfortunately, just as he was getting in his zone Cindy removed his hands from her chest and got off him, pulling him off the bed as she did so he was now in a sitting position. For a moment, he though he did something wrong but the sounds of his pants unzipping made him realize he was dead wrong.

"Mhm, I almost forgot how big you were. This is going to be fun!" The blonde tested the water by gently licking up the sides of the shaft, lapping up some pre-cum in the process. The stifled moan from the normally composed man almost made her break out into a fit of giggles. "I almost forgot how sensitive you are now. It's gonna be fun watching you _squirm"_

"Taking advantage of a blind man? Tsk, tsk, tsk, now that is just _mean_! You're enjoying this power trip, aren't you?"

"Yup! Now relax and enjoy yourself..."

Cindy continued her work on her boyfriend's erect member. After several (presumably agenizing for Ignis) moments of licking his shaft, the blond swallowed his length. Glancing at his face she noticed a look of concentration on his face, he was trying to hold off as long as he could to save face. Cindy took that as a challenge and bobbed her head up and down his cock while her tongue worked miracles on his tip. He came hard after a few minutes of her work, he was human after all. Cindy was surprised that he somehow sounded dignified while screaming in pleasure. She got up from the floor, proud of her work.

"I'm gonna brush my teeth and come back in a minutes, I'm just gonna let you enjoy the aftermath."

After a couple minutes of in her bathroom Cindy returned to her bed to find Ignis soundly sleeping. The man rarely had any time to relax so she was careful to not wake him up. Cindy was caught off guard when Ignis abruptly awoke and grabbed her, pushing her on the bed.

"Ah, I see that my master plan is working out excellently. How did you find my acting?"

"Wait, you were pretending to be asleep this entire time?"

"Yes…apologies for the subterfuge but I really want to pay you back for the pleasure you gave me."

"Oh Gods…This whole thing was supposed be for you! Do you really need to make my night?"

"Indeed I do, but to be honest I really want to hear you scream for me, I'm pretty sure my ears will pick up tones they couldn't before."

Ignis deftly bought his companion closer to his torso, kissing her neck passionately. He sensed that she was struggling to not cry out his name so he changed up his tactics. Lowering his face to her chest, he popped one of her perfect tits into his mouth and rolling his tongue on her nipple.

"Ignis…Gods…This is torture!"

"Well this is what you deserve for taking advantage of a blind man" his voice was dripping with cheeky sarcasm. After having some fun playing with her breasts, Ignis gently lowered the mechanic onto the bed. He caressed her cheek gently with his bare hand, a far cry from the debauchery he had just partaken in.

"Thanks again…for everything"

"Geez Iggy, I appreciate the gratitude but I'd rather just get on with the great sex we've been having."

"Right…my apologies"

Ignis lowered himself onto his companion, cursing the fact that he couldn't see her gorgeous flushed face. To his delight, he could her soft pants and mews with much more clarity, and feel the subtle goosebumps that were enveloping her supple body. Feeling those sensations would never replace the yearning for his vision but he figured that his right eye would recover soon enough so there was no point in angsting about it.

After a moment of making sure everything was lined up correctly, the Count dipped himself into her velveteen walls. Ignis reveled in the cooing that being released from between her lips and the sheer degree of eagerness her body presented. _Fuck_ , he was a lucky man.

Her screams of pleasure was a sign that he should pull out. After all he was without protection and he didn't want to do anything that they would later regret. The duo spent the next half hour or so simply reveling in the fun they just had, letting everything set in.

"Uh, what time is it?"

"I don't know, I can't see your clock, still a bit blind."

"Oh…right sorry about that. Hmm, let's see, its 12:30"

"No use getting up then, I suggest we go to sleep, seeing that we are already in bed."

"I thought you were blind?" the petulant tone of the blondes voice made them both chuckle. Cindy closed the distance between them and rested her head on his chest. "Kinda feels unfair that we're having the time of our lives while our friends are out fighting…"

"We have no choice in the matter. I'm not ready to go into battle and you're needed here to assist the hunters. Besides, they have the Marshall and most of the old Niflheim Empire. My experiences told me not to doubt the King and he shall return the light of Eos."

 ***More smut because why not, I felt this fic was going to fast but considering how rushed the game gets after chapter 9 it was going to be inevitable. To slow down the pace I basically wrote some completely unrelated smut piece. Remember when this was supposed to be a one or two shot comedy story? It expanded way more than I intended!***


	13. Chapter 13-Tenebrae

Gladiolus was no stranger to restless nights. He had spent countless hours that should have been devoted to sleep, training for his destiny- protecting the future king. To be fair, his father did offer him a choice, if he didn't want to become the King's Shield than a high-ranking member of the King's Glaive would have taken on the burden. Gladiolus wanted to make his dad proud and embrace the role that was given to the Amicitia family for countless generations and he'd be damned to reject that privilege.

Besides, Noctis wasn't all that bad. He may be a moody little shit but he had his heart in the right place. The dude cares about the Lucian people more than himself at times, always rushing in to help people in need. And then there was the relationship between the future King and his sister. Gladiolus always knew they had a thing for each other but he kept the "Don't touch my little sister" act for the longest time because he knew that Noctis and Luna were meant to have an arranged marriage to forge peace between two warring nations. It was a shit deal for all three of the participants.

The Niflheim invasion of Insomnia changed everything though, in one night the crown city was reduced to ashes and His father, the King, and a majority of the population was killed. The peace treaty between the nations was a fucking farce. Regis sent his son off because he knew he was going to die. Gladiolus never let his feelings of helplessness be apparent to the rest of the group, he had to keep cool no matter what. The deaths of Luna, his mentor Nyx, the blinding of his childhood friend, and the temporary death of his beloved little sister almost drove him to the edge. He couldn't go to sleep, so he decided to hang out outside the caboose of the train and embrace the cold.

"It is a pleasure meeting you again, O noble Shield of the King." a deathly cold that dwarfed the already freezing landscape suddenly materialized next to him.

"It nice seeing you too, Gentiana."

"Oh? Are you not confused about my presence?" Gladiolus relished the look on her face, this might have been the first time he saw her confused.

"I'm not an idiot, Gen. You're not human. I saw a picture of you and Luna a couple of months back, Luna was eight when it was taken and looked her age while you were unchanged."

An unsteady chuckle escaped the woman's lip, before a more thoughtful look overtook her face. "Are you not afraid of what you discovered?"

Gladiolus simply answered "why should I be? You never given me a reason to be afraid of you. And I'm not dumb enough to to think that I have a chance against some sort of divine being. Besides, you're _way_ too hot to lay a hand on."

"I appreciate the compliment" her face morphed into a more thoughtful expression "and I… Sincerely thank you for your acceptance of the truth. I resigned myself to the notion that only lady Lunafreya would accept my true form and-" Luna's lady in waiting cut herself off, fighting (and failing) her urge to shed tears.

"I'm sorry...about Luna and Nyx. Guess they were both too good for this world. I also have to apologize for the circumstances surrounding Luna's death. I don't know know if you are aware but Noct…Chose to save my sister instead." it was Gladio's turn to shed tears now "look, I know that you cared about Luna but please don't-"

"I don't blame anyone but the empire for the deaths of Luna, Nyx, and anyone else that lost their lives. The Oracle does not blame Noct or Iris either. And Nyx is just glad that you and Ignis made it out alive."

"wait, how do you-"

"I can still communicate with them from the beyond. Lady Lunafreya is spending her time cleansing the starscourge from countless souls. Even in death she never wavers in her commitment to help people. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah…I have one more question. Why are you here right now?"

Gladio noticed that for the first time in...ever, that the stoic woman was rendered flustered. "I simply find you...intriguing"

"Intriguing, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been alive for countless eons, Gladiolus but ever since my beloved died i've wondered around Eos in different forms looking for _something_ to keep me from succumbing from boredom!"

"You're beloved? Are you telling me another God actually died!?"

"Yes, Ifrit was the one who showed me how wonderful humans could be. Unfortunately, the same humans who were given his gift of fire spurned him. In his anger he was infected by the starscourge succumbed to it. His death made humans think that Astrals could be killed by conventional means so I decided fake my death to get some peace and quiet."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the damn phone! You're giving me too much info in too little time! _Ifrit,_ the astral was the man you loved! If Ifrit was you're lover that means you're Shiva!"

"Indeed, is that the extent of your questions?"

Gladio noticed that Gentiana (Shiva? Gentiva?) was becoming a little more withdrawn, no doubt having second thoughts about the kind words she spoke about him. He calmed down and apologized for his string of hysterical questions. To his relief, Gentiana understood his outburst and seemed to forgive him.

"alright, one more question. I know that Ifrit is the "lord of fire" I assume you're an ice gal to keep up with elemental theme for the Astrals. Am I right?"

"While the legends spun through the ages would have you believe that I am an ice elemental, I in fact control the cycle of life and death."

"Whoa, that sounds…heavy"

"I can induce the cold chill of death into a man's very being or I could breath the essence of birth into this world" as she spoke, Gentiana ran her fingers up Gladio's exposed chest and warmed the cold surface of his muscles. "It would be remiss to say I haven't taken advantage of these powers for my own benefit."

"How so?"

"In the past, I would change my form and live amongst humans for a lifetime or so. Just to experience what it would feel like to _be_ among the people I usually observed. I would take a different name, find a man to wed, become "pregnant" with his child, give birth age, and eventually die." Gentiana seemed regretful as she told her tale. "Eventually I came to the realization that I was simply living a lie. I hadn't actually cared for the people I lived amongst and stopped my "adventures" out of guilt. It wasn't until I met Lady Lunafreya that I cared about humans."

If Gladio was horrified by her story, he didn't outwardly show it. He simply kept the calm, sympathetic look he had on and spoke to her gently. "you realized what you were doing wasn't right and you stopped it. If you were to ask me, that shows more humanity than a lot of humans I know."

Gentiana gave a soft chuckle in response, this human was an interesting specimen. She listened intently as the Shield asked another question. "While you were busy playing human, who was around to to control the flow of life and death in Eos?"

"I was. I can make an infinite number of copies of myself yet we share the same mind." Gentiana winced after she gave her crude explanation of the nature of her powers. Surely even someone as open minded as Gladio would still be shocked-"

"so it's like a large scale version of cells in a human body? Neat." Gladiolus was winning her favor more and more by the minute. Something about him seemed so kind and understanding.

"I have been alive since the dawn of time yet even I am taken aback by your acceptance of everything I extolled to you."

"Hey, when you let your little sister date a friend you can accept anything!"the two shared a quaint chuckle at his joke.

"Why are standing around outside during this freezing weather?"

"I just don't want to be in the same room where Noct and my sister are sleeping in the same bed. Is that so wrong?"

"I am old enough to know when a man is lying to me, now tell me what is really bothering you."

"Am I really that bad at lying to women?"

"Maybe if I were 3000 or so years younger than you would have pulled the wool over my eyes."

"Alright, you got me. I'm just really worried...about everything. In the span of about a month my dad died, The King died, The Butler who was basically a second dad to me died, Luna died, Nyx died, and my sister died for a while too. Not to mention my best friend being blinded. It's not easy to sleep after all that shit happens to you.

"You're a well tempered man judging by how composed you are…"

"Not really, I kinda blew up at Noctis a couple of times."

"Well, when my beloved died I gave on humanity for a couple of centuries. I have no place to judge you.

"Heh, guess you're right about that. Anyway, now that we've opened up to each other, what do you want to do now?

Gentiana sidled up to Gladiolus suggestively. If he wasn't the cool and confident chick-magnet that he knew he was, he would've been terrified at the moment. Right now he was only mildly nervous that he got the attention of an extremely hot (and incredibly cool, pun intended) Goddess. "Why don't we return to your bed and make this evening a more productive one?"

"Didn't you promise yourself that you wouldn't "meddle in the affairs" of humanity or something like that"?

Gentiana's ever present smile turned into a sly smirk "Well, it's different now. You know and accept me for what I truly am, so I'm not lying to you"

"Guess you're right about that. Tell ya what, we can do whatever we want as long as we both stay casual about it, no personal feelings, got it?"

"Alright"

"And we can't do anything tonight because I don't want my friends asking why you're here having sex with me."

To be honest, Gentiana had forgotten about the rest of the group that accompanied Gladiolus. "Well...you do raise a good point, but what shall we do in the meantime?"

"Well, we can talk some more I guess. Hear any rumors about me from the rest of Luna's royal staff?"

"The women that worked for Lady Lunafreya never failed to mention your "defined features" If I recall correctly, even Lady Lunafreya fell prey to your charms during a meeting between her and and Prince Noctis. How scandalous of you two!"

"Heh, well around my job the guys always talked about the "smoking hot chick who followed Luna around all day" It didn't take much sleuthing for me to find out out you're the one every guy was talking about.

"How very flattering-"

"Everyone also spoke about how you were probably a sexless prude"

"WHAT?!"

Gladio couldn't help but guffaw at the sight of the ever calm look on the Maiden's face completely disappear for the first time ever. A petulant look he never would have expected coming from her was now plastered on her face.

"Do you believe is such rumors?"

"Well you do always wear wear these complex garments wherever you go. I mean what is this, five layers of wraps and shawls?"

"Allow me to show you how wrong those men were, honestly the nerve them speaking about the greatest Astral like that!"

At this point Gentiana was grabbing Gladio's hand while he was trying to calm her down (and trying not to die of laughter) "Gentiana, relax, I'm talking about a bunch of dumb meatheads who thought that you were just her handmaiden or something-" He was shaken from his rant when Gentiana pushed his index and middle fingers in her mouth, softly sucking his digits into her impossibly warm mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Gentiana said nothing as he pulled the Shield's saliva covered fingers out of her mouth. She took a moment to open her seemingly permanently closed eyes and stare at him with her emerald orbs. He was actually paralyzed by that stare (and for some reason, his trousers seemed be tightening at this) Gentiana then slid his now limp arm under her skirt and a revelation hit Gladiolus-

She was entirely bare underneath her skirt. Gladio never suspected that Gentiana was the type of gal that loved going commando, to be honest that was more surprising than her being an astral.

"Are you going to just let your hand float underneath my skirt? Shame, I figured you were better than that…"

Understanding what she was talking about, Gladio hastily apologized before getting to work between her legs. He drew upon his countless years of intimate knowledge of the female form to give Gentiana a good time. He was a little scared that a woman who lived thousands of years would have seen it all by now. Thankfully, the soft mewls coming out of her mouth were a sign that he wa doing a more than adequate job. Knowing that she was enjoying his ministrations, the Shield decided to slow down to torture her a bit.

She chilled his arm in response and Gladio (wisely) decided to just give her what she wanted. After sliding his finger out of her, Gladio licked her essence off his fingers. To put it bluntly, she tasted divine (pun entirely intended) Gentiana took a moment to compose herself after all they had done and then kissed placed a chaste kiss on Gladio's cheek, seemingly making a mockery of the lewd act she just partook in.

"Will we be doing this again?"

"We are _definitely_ going to do this again after we beat the Empire!"

"Hmph, very well. I sense that you are almost at Tenebrae, I'll leave you to your own devices for now. Please get some rest."

Gentiana seemed to disappear into the cold north wind, the Shield went back to the car that held his sleeping comrades. To his luck, it looked like Noct and Iris finished whatever they were doing. It was about 4 hours until they reached Tenebrae, so he figured he'd get some sleep before they departed.

Once the group arrived in Luna's ancestral home they finally got away from the busy crowd they dealt with on board the train. The civilians were being taken to Lestallum for a safe haven, courtesy of the former Niflheim army. It felt weird to suddenly work hand in hand with Lucis' worst enemy but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"So this is where the Oracle lived...I can't wait to explore this breath-taking new local!" Iris was taken aback by the beauty of Tenebrae.

"Yeeeaaaah, don't expect to stay here for much longer. We're just going to get Prompto, wait for Aranea's crew to take control of the train and then get to Gralea."

"You can't be serious, Noct!? Don't you realize the rich history Tenebrae has? Am I my the only one who wants to stay for at least a little bit?"

"Pretty much."

"Yeah, sorry sis. I just don't see the point of staying here any longer than we need to."

The soft thrum of a Niflheim air-ship interrupted the gang's discussion. Out of the ship came Loqi and the very much alive Prompto"

"Prompto!" Noct and Gladiolus ran up to their pal and gave him a big hug. "Me and Gladio were worried sick when I...knocked you off that train. Uh...can you forgive me for thinking you were Ardyn and attacking."

"Noct, While I was away from the group I met my father. Turns out that he sent me to Lucis so I can avoid becoming an MT. Apparently, that creep Ardyn corrupted the once kinda, sorta reasonable Emperor into some shithead. I'm just glad that you're mostly alright after Ardyn fucked with you're head. Now that we're done with the feels, who's ready to ditch this place?!"

An exasperated "SERIOUSLY!?" from Iris was heard from a distance.

"Well, I'd love to go as much as anyone but we gotta wait for Aranea to give us her men so we can ride off."

"Sweet, Aranea's gonna be here? She's so hot!" Prompto turned towards Gladio with a forlorn expression on his face "Please don't tell me you and Aranea are a thing!"

"Don't worry about any competition, Prompto. Me and Aranea are just friends. But aren't you worried that someone like her would chew you up and spit you out? You're kind of dainty and she's like, a couple years older than you."

"True love has no age, my friend"

Iris chimed into the conversation "That's super creepy, Prompto"

"Yeah, kinda realized that after I said it. All in favor of not continuing this conversation until Aranea arrives?"

"Agreed"

After a _very awkward_ period of waiting, Aranea's custom ship came into view. She stepped out with the two men that followed her wherever she went. "Sorry I was late guys, stopped to pick up some refugees."

"No problem, commodore" Cor's smooth voice was the first to respond "You mind if asked you about the status of Ignis?"

"Well, the guy's picking up fighting faster than I was expecting. A couple more months and he will probably be back in shape and his right eye will probably be healed by then too. Since I'm here to drop Biggs and Wedge off and carry some people back to Lestallum, I figured he'd be busy practicing cooking and spending time with his girl."

"I can't believe I envy a blind dude" was Prompto's only response, which earned him a shoulder jab courtesy of Gladio.

"Thank you, Aranea"

"No problem, Biggs and Wedge are headed to the conductor's booth right now so you guys should better get a move one. And the best of luck to you all, we're counting on you."

After bidding farewell to Aranea, the group boarded the now empty train to their Final Destination.

"Attention passengers, Biggs and I here will be your conductors for today's journey. Keep in mind that we legally cannot guarantee your safety on this trip. Anyway, we hope you enjoy the ride!"

Next stop- Gralea

 ***I decided to pair up Gladio and Gentiana because why not? I know Gentiana was sorta OOC, but she was only in the game for like seven minutes and that time was spent delivering exposition so I decided to take liberties with her character. Also, most of the dialogue from Iris in Tenebrae was sort of a jab at the game not letting us explore the area***


	14. Chapter 14-Gralea

"We'll be arriving in Gralea in about three hours barring any traffic issues, and considering most of Niflheim is either evacuated, daemonized, or dead we can guarantee you no traffic! That's just one of the perks of choosing Biggs and Wedge Enterprises® as your preferred method of travel!" Biggs' PA announcement trailed into a hearty chuckle, laughing at his own joke as Wedge hastily apologized for his partner's dark sense of humor.

"If it weren't for the fact that those two are the only ones who know how to operate the train, I'd probably kick-" Noctis' dry comment wasn't appreciated by Iris, who lightly slapped him on the shoulder. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Did you really get hurt by that, Noct? I barely grazed you!"

"Yeah well, you have that freakish Amicitia strength. It's like I'm training with your brother…" Gladio beamed when he heard the comparison. He knew that his sister won't take any of Noct's shit even if he was her boyfriend.

"Alright, I was mean to Aranea's pals. Why are you getting mad?"

"I happen to share recipes with them and Ignis ever since Aranea became an ally. We swapped our cooking secrets every time we met up. I got the Tenebraen Frozen Custard recipe from Wedge!"

"You got a dessert recipe from them? Great, now Noct is morally obligated to love them!"

"Okay, okay, they're cool...I guess. And not because I enjoy the custard like Prompto said."

The PA announcement blared once again "attention passengers, please prepare for freezing temperatures up ahead. Ever since the Imperial Army slew Shiva, the entirety of Niflheim morphed from an arid environment to a frozen wonderland! Maybe after all the this is put behind us, we can use the frozen corpse of Shiva as a tourist attraction...But seriously ladies and gentleman please bundle up for the harsh weather. That means trade in the skirt for something more fitting for the elements, Sunshine!" It was obvious that last part was directed solely to iris.

"You heard the man, sis. Ditch the skirt"

"Alright, but if I have to wear pants then you have to put a shirt on Gladdy!"

"Deal"

"Okay, Gladio refuses to wear shirts and Iris refuses to wear pants. Are the Amicitia family just a bunch of exhibitionists? Were your guys' mom and dad nudists or something?"

"Uh, guys, are we just going to gloss over the fact that the Imperial army _killed_ an Astral?" Prompto was the one person who seemed worried about the quest they were undertaking

"Don't worry, I doubt that the Nifs killed the actual Shiva." Gladio responded with a cheeky grin that confused the rest of the group.

"Uh-huh, and how would you know anything about the Glacian?" Cor asked, incredulously

"Does it really matter? If Gladio thinks she's still alive than we trust him until we find any evidence to the contrary." Noctis grumbled his answer to Cor.

"That question was for your Shield, _your majesty_. What drove you to answer for him?" Now it was Noct's turn to be questioned by the Immortal.

"He's probably just grumpy that his girlfriend has to trade in her skirt for some pants!"

"Prompto!" Iris smacked him on the shoulder for the inappropriate comment while fighting off a fit of laughter.

"Look can we just get our winter gear and- whoa, when did it get so cold?" Noctis wrapped his arms around his body and shivered.

"What are you talking about? This train is heated, it's pretty comfortable here"

"Are you guys crazy!? It's like, -800 degrees! How are all not feeling it!?" A flash of white enveloped Noctis. After a brief moment of blindness, Noctis opened his eyes and his jaw dropped in horror. Everything was frozen solid and it seemed like it somehow got even colder. The rest of his group seemingly vanished. All that remained was the ice coated seats of the train car. The King ran as fast as he cold under these inhospitable conditions.

"Gotta find the rest, gotta find rest, where the hell are they?" he was muttering to himself. Partly to keep his sanity and partly to stop his teeth from clacking due to to the cold. After running up the length of two cars he spotted the man responsible for this entire mess.

"Ah, Noctis! I hope you're taking this wonderful weather as an opportunity to _cool off_."

"Where the hell are my friends, you bastard!"

"Why they are right behind me." Ardyn stepped aside to reveal the frozen bodies of Prompto, Gladio, Cor, and Iris.

"What the hell did you do to them?!"

"Don't look at me, they are the ones that weren't dressed for the occasion. Just look at this one, he even neglected to wear a shirt!" Ardyn slithered through the frozen people only to knock Cor over, shattering him. "Oops! It seems like I am a bit too _tipsy_ this evening. My apologies Noctis, I promise to clean him up after I'm done talking to you."

"You monster! You killed him! Just like you killed Luna and Nyx and countless people in Lucis and Niflheim!"

"Ah yes, Lady Lunfreya. Did you know that she fell in love with that Nyx fellow? I can't imagine what it's like to have the love of your life fall in love with someone else…"

"Me and Luna never loved each other, we were only going to be married to forge peace between Lucis and Niflheim! That all fell apart after you invaded Lucis!"

"Oh, so you're not in love with Luna? Then please tell me who your true beloved is?"

"Why don't you FUCKING DIE?!" Noct attempted to summon and swing his sword into Ardyn but his reflexes were dulled by the bitter cold he was enduring. Ardyn easily sidestepped his attack and kicked him in the gut. But before he could do anymore damage, whether it be physical or psychological an ally stepped in on Noctis' behalf.

"I see that your immortality didn't improve your immorality Ardyn…" the lilting voice of Gentiana made Ardyn stop his attack on the vulnerable King and towards the woman.

"Oh please stop trying to convince me or more importantly, yourself that you and the rest of the other Astrals have the moral high ground in this situation. Might I remind you that _you_ are the cause of this entire debacle."

"While I recognize that Astrals are at fault for your...condition, you still caused all this despair-

"I was denied everything because I foolishly assisted you petty gods to end the Starscourge! I absorbed so many Daemons I was branded a beast and barred from the Afterlife! My beloved was cast out violated by the plebeians who once praised me for saving their lives! And when I called to you all to help me in my time of need, you replaced me with a false king and tossed me aside!" The normally carefree and eccentric Chancellor was furious at the notion that he had anything to do with his own plight.

"Ardyn, no one in this mortal coil knows about the ancient history you were involved in. You are responsible for the deaths of countless people who have done nothing wrong to you. Maybe at some point you had a legitimate reason for you venom and vitriol but you are far past that point…"

After a moment of contemplation, Ardyn's mouth morphed into his trademark smirk once again. "Oh, after thousands of years it has just now occurred to me why the astrals cast me out…"

Willing to humor him, Gentiana responded to his obvious bait "and what would that be?"

"It's because I couldn't save Ifrit from the Starscourge. It's no wonder why you selfish beings never attempted to curb the spread of the disease. It didn't matter until one of your own became afflicted. Of course you used a "lowly human" as your test subject to vanquish the disease so you won't risk your own skins. After Ifrit succumbed you had no reason to keep me around so you let me get corrupted. I'm guessing Ifrit meant more to you than he meant to the others, perhaps a lover? I remember when he died...Ah, the face you wore that day-"

Evidently, Ardyn touched a nerve with his remarks. Since Gentiana froze him before he was finished with his tirade. The Chancellor fell over and shattered but Gentiana knew better than to assume he was gone for good. For now, all she wanted to do was dispel the illusion Noctis was trapped in.

"It's time for you to wake up, Noctis." Almost instantly, the bitter cold that pervaded Noctis' body left and the nightmare that he was trapped in faded. He got up and was quite confused about the appearance of Gentiana.

"Gentiana? What happened? Why are you here? What happened to Ardyn? Is everyone alright?" Gentiana couldn't help but chuckle at the nervous king.

"Let go of your concerns. Ardyn fiddled with your mind and lead you to believe that your friends were killed. You were stuck in the throes of delusions by that madman so i came to free you and offer you my power."

"Your power? I thought you're just Luna's guardian or something."

"While that is true, I am also Shiva, the Astral that controls Life and Death within Eos"

"It speaks a lot about what happened in the past few weeks that this revelation isn't extremely shocking…"

"Oh? Why not take a gander at my true form?" Gentiana shed the layers of clothing that she had to reveal the form that she spent most of her life in- a scantily clad blue woman with braided white hair draped in jewelry. "Is this surprising enough for you?"

"Well...I...am kinda shocked at the fact you went from "tastefully dressed" to "Prompto's biggest dream" so there's that"

Shiva noticed that the King was averting his eyes and blushing and couldn't help but giggle. She wanted to tease him a bit more but she knew that they had little time left. "I come to you in this form so I can grant you my power. When you need me, please feel free to summon me and I will aid you in your quest."

"That's great! After a downright miserable last couple of weeks, some good news is welcome. Thank you for helping me! I have one question though…"

"What is that?"

"What are the specifics of summoning? I know that my friends and I have to be on the brink of death but I don't know how to summon who. Sometimes I want Titan to help out but most of the time it's just Ramuh coming in and zapping everything. I appreciate it, but Ramuh gets boring after a while…"

Before Shiva could answer him, they were interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the group. "Why the hell did you run off, kid? You got your girlfriend and her bro scared to death." somehow Cor was able to make concern sound nonchalant. The others couldn't get a word in, for they were too distracted by the Glacian. Shiva turned towards Gladio and shot him a flirtatious smirk.

"It's nice to see you again so soon, Gladiolus. How do you like my true form" she did a little twirl to emphasize her…"features" as Gladio grinned in audacity (while Iris and Prompto's jaws dropped) Since Cor was was in Regis' inner circle, he already knew the truth about Gentiana and Shiva and wasn't concerned with this.

"I don't know. You're human form is gorgeous too, it'll be hard to chose which one is prettier, Gentiana."

"Wait, you're Lady Lunafreya's handmaiden?" Iris' voice made it obvious that she was confused

"Indeed I am. You must be Iris Amicitia, correct?" She waited for the confirming nod from the other woman before continuing "If the knowledge I have is accurate, than you must be the woman that caught the King's heart" Shiva took a moment to thoroughly scan Iris from head to to before making a...somewhat random announcement to Noctis "I think that she would an excellent Queen, my liege!" Noctis and Iris blushed in response while Prompto burst out laughing and Cor and Gladio smiled in approval.

"Before I forget, please let me ask you a question Gentiana…" Prompto promptly changed the subject

"Ask me anything"

"Are you and the big guy an item?"

"We're more like "friends with benefits" right now Prompto."

"I was asking Gentiana, not you Gladio!" the blonde turned towards Gentiana (who at this point assumed her more human appearance) "So, what's the deal with you and Gladio?"

"At a point long past, I have formed...relationships with humen men. As you can tell it's a sort of "Mayfly-December romance" it always pained me to see someone who I spent a lifetime with just wither away and die. So eventually, I stopped doing such activities. It didn't feel right watching someone you care about cease to exist, not just the men I formed a bond with but any children I have ever produced were only human. After eons of loss, I grew cold and distant towards humanity until I met a kind soul in Lady Lunfreya. She helped me understand that part of my problems concerning mortals stemmed from my own psychology not understanding how a human feels and thinks."

"Huh, I always thought the Astrals had infinite wisdom" Gladio gave a Gruff reply, teasing Gentiana

"Oh, us Astrals made many mistakes and are far from infallible. No matter how "above humanity" some my kind such as Leviathan make themselves out to be."

Noctis cringed at the mention of the Tidemother "Yeah...Leviathan is sort of a terrible person(?). Even after All we've been through to forge a pact with her, she still acts like she's better than everyone. That includes fellow Astrals. Ramuh always sets her straight though, guess a water being wouldn't want to get the lord of lightning mad. Speaking of Ramuh, I'm guessing he's one of the Astrals who's cool with humans?"

"You would be correct in your assumption. The Fulgarian was one of few Astrals that cared about Humanity from their inception. He along with Ifrit convinced the rest of us that human beings were special creatures. Bahamut embraced humanity's culture and art so much that he eventually forged his own armor based on the people of Solheim's design and decided to wear it over his draconid body."

"So what you're saying is that the king of dragons is a weeaboo for humanity?"

"I don't know what that term means, King Noctis" Gladio shut down the conversation before Noctis could explain what the term "weeaboo" meant to someone who was around since the beginning of Eos.

"We're almost at Gralea, where the Emperor and that violet haired weasel are probably holed up with the Crystal. There's gonna be a lot of daemons out there and there is only five of us. Because I'm guessing Gentiana won't be able to join us on our journey" A confirming nod from the Glacian demented Gladio's theory "While Gentiana is doing whatever Astrals do, it's up to us to take back the crystal. I don't recommend we go in all guns blazing because it's gonna be five against five hundred if we're lucky. So I recommend we stealth our way through. Now the only person I think we need to fight is the Chancellor. Since that bastard murdered Luna and Nyx and critically injured my sister, we shouldn't take him lightly. As for the Emperor...He's probably dead or daemonized at this point. Any other suggestions you guys want to throw out here? I admit that this plan isn't the most foolproof so I'm open to anything…"

"I'm afraid that your plan is the best we got with so little resources at our disposal. You're father would be proud" Cor gave Gladiolus an approving nod and a rare smile "not sure how he'd feel about you being involved with an Astral though…" and just like that Cor went back into snark mode.

Gentiana seemed offended by the Immortal's comments and chimed into the conversation "I have scant recollection of the king or any of his little friends being wary of me when I intervened on Lucis' behalf whenever a battle occurred between your nation and Niflheim. Nor did they stop me when I decided to assist you and your _companion_ after you failed the Blademaster's trial…"

"Okay Gentiana, I don't think you need to go on with this guilt trip-" Gladio cut him off, clearly wanting to hear the rest of the story. The other members of the gang were similarly thirsty for the story "I think we should hear the rest of Gentiana's tale. Can you continue?"

"Certainly! I caught a battered Cor right outside the training grounds quite a while ago, he must been only a teenager back then. He was bruised and broken but his pride sustained the most damage. It was clear that Cor was ashamed that he fled the battle with Gilgamesh. The woman who was tending to his wounds was simply glad that he was alive. What was her name again? Monica...yes, Monica was here name! She was admonishing you for throwing your life away away so recklessly against Gilgamesh. You were barely conscience so I doubt that you heard anything she said..."

"Okay, I got my ass kicked. We get it, what does this have to do with you helping the Lucian people?"

"After your I witnessed your defeat, I decided to pay Gilgamesh a visit and inquire the circumstances of your defeat. According to the blademaster, you were on the path to winning that fateful duel until you received word that someone rushed off into the canyon to stop you from partaking in the trial. The distraction lead to Gilgamesh slicing your arm but instead of retaliating, you chose to rush to the person who traversed the proving grounds to stop you from fighting Gilgamesh."

"Wait a minute, you failed the trial because you thought Monica got hurt trying to stop you from fighting Gilgamesh? When you told me you failed I thought you just got beat fair and square. No wonder Gilgamesh used your sword! I thought it was weird that he would use a weapon of someone who failed the trial but he kept your blade to remember a Warrior who had better priorities than to "prove himself".

"The Blademaster and I were impressed that Cor chose to help his ally so readily that we agreed to forge him a new sword. The katana he welds to this day was actually a gift from both of us. We forged it for the immortal because we knew he would use it to protect what's most important to him. When I gave it to him all those years ago I neglected to mention that Gilgamesh had a hand in creating it."

"I guess that makes up for the big guy taking my old katana and then giving it to Gladiolus…"

Gladio chuckled at his words and fired a snappy comeback. "Well Gilgamesh reformed your old Hunk of junk a couple times so it's barely your sword anymore! It's custom made for a juggernaut like me!"

"so it looks like both Cor and Gladio have mystical weapons given to them by a legendary entities no pressure for the rest of us…"

"Speak for yourself Prompto, I got all my royal arms at my side!" Noctis seemed pretty proud of his arsenal.

"So I guess Iris and I are the only normies here."

Iris turned towards the gunslinger with a smile "looks like it!"

"Yeah, not exactly…" Noctis seemed Excited with what he was about to say

"what do you mean, Noct?"

"Well I was wondering if I could loan some of my royal arms to my friends and according to the past Kings that I communicate with through the the ring that if they approve of my choice of bearer than they will let them have the power of the royal arm. I wanted Iris to use the katana of the Warrior king because Gods know I'm not the best with it and the Warrior king scoured through my memories of you to find a reason for you to be worthy."

"Please tell me that he only looked through your memories of us fighting side by side…" Iris covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, he assured me he was only looking for times where you saved my ass during a fight"

"Why would he look for those memories?"

"Well, the King who used katana had a wife who was always on the battlefield with him. She died in the in the heat of battle and in response the Warrior king exiled himself for his failure in protecting his beloved. He wanted someone who was able to help the person they loved to wield his sword. I told him that you and I were in love and that you saved my ass countless times while we were killing daemons. He finally relented when he saw you strangle a goblin…with your thighs after he ambushed me. For reasons I'd rather not say, I remember that incident with perfect clarity…"

"Yo Cor! What the hell were you teaching my little sister!?"

"Don't look at me! Monica taught her all her hand to hand combat skills!"

"Hey! I was telling you guys something! As I was saying, Iris' admittedly scary sense of protectiveness towards me convinced the Warrior King that she was worthy of wielding his blade."

"So...how do I use his sword?"

"just focus on summoning the katana of the warriors like how you summon your regular katana and it should pop up in your hands"

After a moment of concentration, Iris was elated that the sacred sword of the fallen king had materialized in her hands. The blade was almost weightless but Iris could feel the fact that the sword could probably cut through steel. "this is awesome!"

"looks like I'm the only one without a special weapon…"

"Don't worry Prompto, I could probably snag you the Queen's bow if you really needed-"

"I'm just messing with you guys! When I was hanging out with my dad he showed me the experimental guns he made. He used the Lucian magitek technology we used to make our infinite ammo magic handguns and I fused it with the Niflheim made guns. I now have a magic SMG and assault rifle to go with my signature revolver! And check this out! He gave me a rocket launcher that could launch the magic grenade that we use over long distances! Guess dad was really eager to make up for the missed birthdays with these sweet presents!"

"Okay...but if you ever need a royal arm, just hit me up anytime."

"Got it, Noct!" the group was interrupted by the blare of PA and the harsh tone of Biggs' voice. "Attention Passengers! This train will stop at the tunnel coming up. We would make the entire trek towards Zegnautus Keep but whoever is running that place is bombarding any vehicle that tries to get through. The train will be too slow to evade the artillery but luckily the Marshall stowed the car you boys use in the back!" We'll be here when you guys come back. Good luck and Godspeed, you brave souls!"

"You really stored the Regalia in here, Cor?"

"I figured that we would need it and I guess I was right. Let's hope that thing is fast enough to outrun the whatever the hell is going to fire at us."

"The Astrals and the world place their faith in you all. My only wish is to accompany you on your journey but alas, the calls of the people who are treading into the Astral Plane are too to ignore."

"Yeah...I guess you're gonna be busy for a while with all the danger in Eos."

"I promise to help out whenever I can, my liege." The Glacian disappeared after uttering those words, leaving the mortals alone in their mission. "Alright, let's get in the car!"

The drive towards the heart of the Empire was about as dangerous as they expected. Even with all of the speed and armor upgrades that Cindy provided them it was only a matter of time until the Regalia fell victim to the concentrated onslaught of artillery. Luckily for the group, it seemed that the assault ended once the Regalia got damaged beyond repair. Noctis took a moment to mourn for the car, well not exactly for the Regalia but for the memories that it had.

"Sitting in this car with my dad whenever we drove to go fishing...those were the times where I felt that I was actually talking to my dad and not the "wise king of Lucis". So many memories of just being a regular person in this thing...not the Crown Prince of Lucis just a regular ol' Noct."

"Iggy and I had some crazy adventures in that thing too…" Gladio looked at the now destroyed vehicle with an air of reverence. "I remember when we went on a roadtrip across Eos after graduating the royal Academy. We both knew that this would the last time we'd get to relax. Just seeing the city as just two best friends and not the Shield and Advisor, nothing could ever replicate those days...Then again, I was _super drunk_ most of the time so I may remember some of details wrong"

"You know Gladdy, you never told me what things you and Iggy did on your road trip"

"I'll tell you when you're older, little sis"

"You used that excuse when I first asked you! I'm nineteen now, I'm old enough to know what you guys did!"

"Well Ignis spent most of our time writing down new recipes that he could try out once he got home."

"And what did you do?"

"You know what you do with Noct, imagine me doing that with a different woman for every town we visited"

"...Now I regret asking you"

"As much as I love cringe comedy, we got a fort to storm lady and gentlemen! I promised my dad that I'd test out the guns he made for us so he could manufacture them for the rest of the world."

"Prompto is right, we need to retrieve the crystal" Noctis ended his remark by summoning his ultima blade at hand but something peculiar happened. "Uh, guys, I can't access my weapon here!" the rest of the group tried to summon their arms and were met with the same result.

"Ardyn must have messed with the crystal somehow and messed with the magic we possess"

"I guess sneaking is the only option we have now. I'm gonna show you all why they call me the sneak-ing!"

"Nobody calls you that, Noct" Before Iris could say anything else to her eager boyfriend, the king leaped over several dilapidated trains to the other side of the route towards Zegnautus Keep. Unfortunately, while he was doing that, the structures he leapt over tumbled towards the ground. This caused a barrier to form between the Noctis and the rest of the party.

Cor contacted the king via cell phone to ask him what the hell he was thinking. "I think that the past kings of Lucis are influencing me, Cor. The crystal means so much to them and it's beginning to drive _me_ nuts! I know that the Ring of the Lucis still works, so I'm fine with magic. You guys stay, catch up whenever you can. I feel like I'm safe with their guidance."

The party were left stunned at the departure of the king. Iris began to worry that the kings in the ring were unknowingly dragging Noct off to a suicide mission. But before they can suggest a strategy to retrieve Noct, a familiar face walked into the scene (entirely uninvited).

"I see that you all don't appreciate the fact that I could cancel your "great Lucian magic" mind if I turn it back on?" Ardyn let his hand go of the button on the device he was holding and almost instantly the group's weapons appeared in their hands. Gladiolus charged at the Chancellor but the weasel was two steps ahead of them and deactivated their weapons a second time.

"Would you rather waste your time fighting me or go off and save your king? After all, his non-ring derived weapons are still useless. I don't think he's well equipped to deal with the horrors in that fortress alone… I'll tell you what, once you meet up with him, I'll reactivate his weapons!"

"uh huh, what's stopping you from taking away our stuff the minute we leave?"

In response to the Shield's question, The Chancellor took his hand off the button and threw the device off the bridge. "is that confirmation enough for you all? I have to say it wounds me to see you all distrust me so!"

"Well, I don't know about anyone else but you kind of tried to kill me back in Altissia" Iris was the first one to respond

"When I struck you down, I was not aware of your status or identity, Miss Amicitia! I assume you are the younger sister of the King's Shield. Ah, so yours is a childhood friendship romance? How lovely! I wish the best for both of you!" the party didn't know what was creepier- the fact that he divulged that much about Iris or the fact that he was seemingly _genuine_ in his well wishes for the young couple. His genuine demeanour was dropped quickly when he warned the group about Noct being alone.

"The clock is ticking! better go catch up to your friend!"

0000

It was only after going down several levels of the complex fortress did Noct understand that his quick thinking lead to him being entirely alone in this colossus of a fortress. It wasn't as bad as he thought however, the only foes he encountered thus far were a broken down MT's and goblins. The king had mixed feelings over the use of the ring. On one hand, it was a good substitute for his now defunct magic abilities but it did feel wrong sucking the life out of daemons with death spells. He rationalized that the daemons had already lost all of their humanity and the he shouldn't angst about his fight for survival. The voices of the king were urging him to get to the lowest levels of the fortress to retrieve the crystal. Inwardly, he was lashing out at impatient kings and queens that lead him to abandon his friends.

"If you guys weren't aware, I'm the only one who will actually die if I mess up here! So why don't you guys let me focus on fighting the daemons and these fucking KEY CARD PUZZLES!"

The past kings stopped whining in Noctis' head. "Great, now the only annoying voice I have to deal with is that violet haired asshole taunting me over the PA system…"

0000

The rest of the party blazed through the fortress on the account of Noctis doing most of the puzzles for them. They made short work of the surprisingly easy to kill daemons for the most part. Their leisurely stroll through the fortress was cut short when they had to deal with a large red teleporting daemon. After a prolonged battle, they seemed to have beaten the beast. As it lay dying, seemed to utter the words "My…Crystal"

"Is it me or did that thing just talk?"

"What's with you and daemons talking? First that Naga speaking to you in the waterfall and now this?" Gladio was teasing him

"I'm serious dude! That daemon was talking about the crystal!"

"That's enough you two, let's just take this elevator and get to the crystal" Cor punched the buttons to go the the bottom floor of the fortress. Thankfully, the elevator was made to transport heavy machinery and that meant the group had a lot of space to relax for the time being. Unexpectedly, the elevator stopped two-thirds of the elevator abruptly stopped. 

"Who the hell could use this elevator other than us?" the door opened and it was none other than Noctis.

"Noct! You're alive!" Iris crushed Noct into a bone-breaking hug that lasted for seemingly an eternity until her older brother urged her to let go of the guy before he dies. She awkwardly let go of him before expressing her relief that Noct was (relatively) unharmed. "When you ran ahead of us to storm the fort, I thought...well…"

Noctis interrupted her with a small kiss, silencing her stammering. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much, guess I'm a pretty shitty boyfriend…"

"I'll say" the gruff tone of Gladio voice interrupted the romantic reunion.

"Thanks for ruining the mood Gladio!"

"What can I say? Even though I approve of you two dorks, I'm still her big bro. If I can't bust your chops then I would have failed my duty."

"Why don't we save the heartfelt goodbyes for later? I wanna get out of here I tell my dad about the weapons he gave me!" for once, Prompto opted not to goof around. Noctis entered the elevator with they set their destination to the lowest level of the massive building.

"I kinda thought that this would have been harder…"

"What? You wanted to go through this place floor by floor?"

"No, I mean...I thought that there would have been more...harder to fight daemons ? There were only some cannon fodder in my way. I'm not complaining, but this whole adventure was pretty anti-climatic "

The elevator stopped and the group found themselves in front of huge hangar doors. Ardyn's annoying voice was blaring something about memories over the PA system but the party silently agreed to ignore the troll so he won't get the satisfaction of getting under their skin. Out of the doors came a deformed, daemonized Ravus. He was barely more than a shambling corpse at this point and he begged them to kill him before lunging at them to attack.

"You just _had_ to complain that this was too easy, didn't ya?"

"Shut up Gladio! How was I supposed to know that Ravus would be here? The news reports said he died!"

"I'm kinda out of the loop here, but what did Ravus do to you guys?" Iris asked while dodging a sloppy strike.

"Well, he knocked your bro back during a confrontation we had early into our journey and he keeps waving around Noct's dad's sword making Noct super pissed. Other than that, he didn't much. Strange, I thought we would see more of him…"

"Let's focus on killing the raging daemon before lamenting that we didn't get to know Ravus better!" Cor shouted as he parried a blow from Ravus' sword. Cor noticed he had one in each had. One was undoubtedly Regis' blade and the other seemed to be a daemonic blade that seemed to "grow" out of his corrupted arm."

"Got it! Iris and you should use your speed advantage to keep him off balance! Prompto, you get out of the thick of it and pelt him with whatever you got! Me and Gladio will catch him while he's distracted with big hits!"

The plan went swimmingly. The daemonic general spent a better part of the battle focusing on the lightning fast attacks of the katana users only to be hit by a magic flask shot by Prompto from afar. The majority of those flasks were filled with ice and caused Ravus to be frozen in place. While he was incapacitated, Noct and Gladio dominated him with heavy sword strikes. After a good thirty minutes, the daemon succumbed to his wounds. He was finally free of the daemonic affliction and was set to see his sister in the astral plane. Before he passed, he tossed Noctis his father's sword and thanked him.

There was no rest for the weary since as soon as they defeated Ravus, a bevy of powerful daemons entered the room to kill them. Ardyn opened the doors that lead to the crystal and urged Noct to make the choice between his friends and the crystal. At first he opted to fight with them but they ordered him to run and touch the crystal, as it was the only way to permanently end the daemonic plague. With a heavy heart, he ran towards the mythical gem and touched it. He pleaded with it to save everyone. What he did not expect was to be sucked in the crystal.

"What the hell?!"

"Unharmed by the Light. The Chosen King indeed. Allow me to regale you with a tale. In an age long past, an incurable scourge ravaged mankind.." Ardyn stepped into view, happy that Noctis was fulfilling his destiny.

"A tiny menace that twisted men into monsters, the likes which you've seen- ARGHH!"

"...As I was saying, In Lucis lived a savior that could cure the afflicted. His body would come to host myriad daemons-ARGHH!"

"I am trying to divulge my origins to you boy! Would you please be quiet for more than one second ?! I can barely hear myself think with your grunts you're making!"

"I'm getting sucked in the crystal, dumbass! It hurts like hell!"

"Very well then...That countless lives be a jealous king, one not yet chosen by the Crystal, ostracized and demonized this healer of the people. Making a true monster of him. I gave you my name earlier, but you should know that it was not the name given to me at birth. Ardyn Lucis Caelum is my proper name. You'll never guess whose name Izunia was. Noct, killing you as a mortal will bring me scant satisfaction. Claim the Crystal's power. Arise as its champion. Only once the Crystal and King are no more... can I know redemption. Come back soon. I shall keep your friends company until you are ready."

"Wait? You were the chosen king? My ancestor betrayed you? I need to he-"His words were cut cut off when became fully absorbed by the crystal. Ardyn took a moment to look at the giant gem and muse to himself. "I've been awake for far too long, not much longer…"

The remaining group that held off the daemons seemed successful as the barreled towards the chancellor. "Where the hell is the king, Asshole?" Gladio grabbed the man by his neck and punched him in the face.

"You will see him again in due time. That I assure you…"

Iris was next to ask questions, and with tears in her eyes she picked him up off the ground and interrogated him further. "Where is Noct?! What did you do to him?!"

Once again, Ardyn acquired a sense of sympathy "I am truly sorry that this had to happen, but I've been planning this for too long. If only there was a world that we could both be granted our desires" he chuckled for a brief moment than looked in the eyes of the woman "You remind me so much of her…"

She had enough of his bullshit and rammed him with the royal arms Noctis gave her. The other followed suit and assaulted him with their weapons. The Chancellor simply regenerated from those wounds and bid them a farewell before strolling out of the fortress.

0000

The group left the complex broken and defeated. The starscourge was still a problem, the nights were still getting longer, and now Noct was gone as well. Aranea picked them up in her airship, apparently Biggs and Wedge saw that the Regalia was wrecked and called her to pick them up while they left by train. The looks on their faces told her that they failed whatever mission they set out to do and so the Dragoon didn't bother to question them any further. That would come at a later time.

 ***I decided to make fun of the fact that Ravus barely did anything in game and that Ardyn's speech was hard to hear with all the grunting Noct did. I think I got two more chapters left in me for this fic.***


	15. Chapter 15-Reflections

" **Awaken, Chosen King!"**

"What the hell, Bahamut? Am...Am I dead?"

" **You are very much alive, and you have so much to do in the short time we have"**

"Are you sure? The crystal _ate_ me and now I'm floating in the Astral Plane…"

" **I understand your concerns but you must put them to rest. Destiny has ordained you to be the salvation this world needs. What you experience here is but a brief respite from your duty to combat the darkness that has overtaken the land…"**

Noctis' eyes widened in horror "You mean to tell me that the Starscourge is still happening?!"

" **The people of this world will have to do there best to live through these trying times while the king prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice**

"Does that mean you're gonna use me to fix your mistakes then toss me aside?" Noct made no effort to hide the venom in his voice

" **You dare question the wisdom of an Astral?!"**

"Well Ardyn Lucis Caelum trusted the Astrals and it didn't end up so well for him" at this point, Noctis' plan was either going to succeed spectacularly or end up with him having a fate worse than death. Luckily, Bahamut seemed to deflate upon hearing a mention of his past failure.

" **So, you are well aware of what happened in the distant past…"**

"Are you telling me that asshole who plunged the world into darkness became the person he is today because my distant ancestor stole his position after he was corrupted by daemons you guys told him to absorb?"

" **It was a shameful period for all of the Astrals"**

"So you just swept it up under the rug? I guess you guys thought that you would deal with Ardyn the same way you deal with all of your problems- just outlive it. But then you realized that Ardyn will live as long as all of you didn't you? So once again, a human has to clean up a mess that the Astrals started. But...no matter how much I hate the situation that we're in right now, there is no reason to start petty arguments when the world is going to hell. I have a couple questions though."

" **Very well, we owe you that much at the very least."**

"The guy who stole the throne from Ardyn, why did he do it? Why did you guys let him? And why am I just hearing about all this now?"

" **The Ancestor you speak of was one of the two candidates for Ascension. Your ancestor simply went by the name "Izunia". He and Ardyn Lucis Caelum were the only two that could bear the power of the crystal. The two of them were good friends but they had differing ideals. Izunia was much more conservative in his beliefs and wanted to be as cautious as possible in delivering aid. Ardyn was far more openly altruistic and jumped at the chance to help end the plague that was affecting the people of the land.**

 **Ifrit was the head of the union between the Astrals and Man. the Infernian was infected with the Starscourge as well and thus knew the dangers of the affliction. He wanted to end the plague and had high hopes that Man and Astral could work hand in hand. The first solution they thought was to use the Ardyn's innate magic to absorb the demonic infection from the ones who were sick. It was a crude solution, but it was the best they had at the moment. Ifrit opted to wait until they found a less risky treatment and while Ardyn spent his days curing humans that were ill.**

 **Soon, Ardyn gained notoriety for his noble actions and he was crowned King. At first, he humbly rejected but we urged him to accept their praise as he was the chosen King. For a period of time, things were well. Ardyn healed the people of Eos and had all his earthly desire fulfilled. Izunia, however grew jealous at his former friend's fame. Seeing a man who once was his equal being praised by the masses. His jealousy grew to exceedingly vitriolic proportions.**

 **In the years since the alliance between us, life progressed smoothly. Then...then everything we built fell apart. It became known that Ardyn was becoming corrupted by the daemons had absorbed when he cured people. Ifrit's health was declining rapidly as well. It was apparent that the Infernian, a being that had lived since the dawn of this world was expiring. But, with his death, he cast one last spell that greatly reduced the impact of the Starscourge.**

 **We had all lost a valuable ally the day Ifrit past...but Shiva bore the brunt of the pain and misery that we felt. She and Ifrit were lovers and his death devastated her the most. Ifrit was the first of us to embrace humanity and when he died, we placed our wrath on the human that we thought would cure him."**

"Ardyn Lucis Caelum…"

" **Indeed. We ignored his pleas to help him and cast him aside. The jealous second choice, Izunia used our anger to convince us that** _ **he**_ **was to be the chosen king. We banished Ardyn to live out his final days in misery. Izunia however, earned the praise of the people who once worshipped our original chosen king and the men and women who still supported Ardyn were killed or in the case of his beloved...let's just say she welcomed her death after what the mob did to her. Izunia later stole Ardyn's name and christened himself Princeps Lucis Caelum, the first King of Lucis. All mentions of Ardyn were scrubbed from any official records and he was lost in the annals of time.**

 **Centuries later, we collectively realized that we we all blinded by hatred due to Ifrit's death that we acted irrationally. But by the time we decided to rectify our mistake the Lucis Caelum line had already flourished into a noble lineage that served the people honorably. If we had intervened then, humanity would have been thrown into chaos once again. We decided to not directly intervene with the affairs of humanity anymore"**

"My entire family line is a sham…"

" **Incorrect, every king and Queen of Lucis faithfully served their people. Whatever wrongdoings the first king of Lucis did, does not reflect on any other members of your family."**

"Alright...I'm guessing I'm the only non-Astral that knows the truth about the origins of family?"

" **That is correct, but now, we must train for your upcoming battle. I regret to say that we do not have much time to train you."**

"What, we have like two months?"

" **My apologies, I had forgotten about your miniscule mortal lifespan. Our training will last about ten years."**

"Are you serious?! You expect everyone to live in a daemon infested dark world for ten goddamn years!"

" **It is unfortunate, but we must get started right away!"**

0000

The remaining members of the King's party arrived at the Hunter HQ in a state of disarray and fatigue. The journey they embarked on was a difficult one and no one would object to them getting some rest before explaining what happened. Gladio spoke up to Dave about the state of Noctis.

"Noct is stuck in the crystal, we thought it would help him end the starscourge and endless night but all it did was eat him up. We don't have much time make the lands we have inhabitable. The majority of Niflheim is overrun by daemons so that's out of the question-"

"Before you continue, I have to tell you something about my hunters right after Aranea picked you up. Apparently, they randomly developed the ability to warp and to cast magic that only Lucian royalty has access to. I think that even if Noct is stuck in the crystal, he's giving humanity a fighting chance against encroaching darkness!"

Cor threw his sword at the wall experimentally and warped towards it when the blade stuck itself in the wall. "Well, I'll be damned! Maybe life won't be so hard with these upgrades the kid gave us."

"So...Noct is alive?" Iris voice barely registered above a whisper. She was clearly devastated that Noctis was taken away from them. Prompto attempted to comfort her with his trademark unending optimism.

"Hey, whatever happened to Noct, he's still watching out for us from...in the crystal I guess? I dunno. But I _do_ know that he's doing everything he can to help humanity from his position since he gave us his wicked awesome powers! So you...we all have to stay strong for Noct so we can give him a warm welcome when he comes back!"

Thankfully, the blonde's word seemed to lift up the spirits of the distraught Shield sibling "You're right Prompto, I can't spend the rest of my life moping for him." she was caught in an unexpected tight hug from her older brother.

"You're going through a lot sis and I just want to say how proud dad would have been…and how proud I am today of all that you accomplished." the big man turned towards the rest of the group and spoke up "We all have the duty to protect what land and people this world has left. The king gave us his blessing and his powers to see things through to the end."

His words garnered cheers from the small audience he spoke to. "Alright, let's all get some rest. Tomorrow we tell Iggy and Cindy what happened they deserve the right to hear what transpired in a face to face conversation."

Gladio, Iris, and Prompto set out to go to hammerhead the next day. Cor was busy discussing the latest plans to shelter the lands from the oncoming darkness with Dave and Aranea was helping transport refugees and supplies across the continent. She dropped them off at hammerhead as a thanks for keeping her to knucklehead friends out of any battle. Biggs and Wedge gave the group the Regalia's hood ornament, the only intact of the car, as a parting gift. The outside of Hammerhead remained relatively the same. The big difference were the huge flood lights that had anti-daemon properties and metal barriers to keep out the persistent daemons. Takka wasn't his shop, which would have worried them but they heard that he was making food for the hunters. The sounds of Cid and Cindy tirelessly working on new lights and fixing cars was loud enough to hear from outside the garage and the unmistakable scent of Ignis' cooking was permeating the air.

"Looks like Ignis got the hang of cooking again!"

"That's good to know, otherwise I'd do all the cooking for you and Gladio all by my lonesome"

"Let's hope Aranea wasn't exaggerating when she told us that Ignis is doing pretty well fighting while blind. We're gonna need all the help we get in in the endless night…"

"Dude, you can't be serious? Ignis is still blind! We can't expect a blind guy to fight daemons with us!"

"We don't have much of a choice Prompto! I don't wanna make Iggy fight as much as you do but we're gonna need all the help we can get. And besides, the doctors did say that Iggy's left eye would get its eyesight back in a couple of months so he won't be totally blind for much longer."

"When you gentleman discuss my future as a combatant, would you be so kind as to not exclude me in your discussions." Ignis calmly strolled outside of the garage and interrupted his friend's conversation.

"How the hell did you hear us?"

"The loss of my vision enhanced the rest of my senses. I could hear the three of you walking in the garage and that's what got me worried…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I heard three sets of footsteps the voices of you, Prompto, and Iris. I assume something terrible happened to Noct."

"Well...at least I don't have to break it to you. You see, Noct got absorbed by the crystal and now we're stuck in a world with no sunlight and daemons everywhere. Apparently, Noct is still watching out for us because the hunters and us have obtained his royal powers. We can all warp and use the magic that was reserved for the Lucian lineage. Physically, we seem to have gained Noct's supernatural endurance and healing factor as well. So even though he's trapped in the crystal, he's still looking out for us."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Earlier this week, i felt a great surge of power surge within while working with Cindy and Cid. After dinner Cid pulled me aside and asked if I felt the same surge of power that he did. It looks like the combination of the crystal and the ring empowered everyone that is fighting for the side of the light. The old man was actually _sparring_ with me earlier today! He told me that he felt as young as he did when he was traveling with the King Regis. I believe that the powers of the true king are greater than we have ever imagined!"

"That's weird...your eyes are still messed up, though…"

"That is strange, indeed. What kind of power does Ardyn have to have my wounds be negated by the rejuvenating effects of the Crystal?"

"It's probably because Ardyn is something Inhuman. I sliced his stomach open with my katana, Prompto shot him several times at point blank range and Gladdy smashed him with his sword. He just got up, regenerated and walked away like it was nothing! I bet that whatever power that he has, it's too much to be healed by Noct. Sorry, Iggy."

"It's quite alright, Iris. But if what you said about Ardyn is true, it makes sense that he was able to kill Luna and Nyx so easily. I believe we should further discuss matters inside with Cindy and Cid.

All of them went inside to discuss the future. Cid had already known what happened to Noct, citing a talk that Regis gave him and his friends a long time ago about what may happen in the future if things go as badly as he foresaw. Noct becoming the chosen King and being trapped in the crystal and sent to the Astral Plane was a worst case scenario but it seemed like it was actually happening. Cindy buried herself in her work as a means of overcoming her grief and doing something to contribute to the cause. The group was shocked that Regis had seen this coming. Cid assure them that it was just a worst case scenario and that unfortunately, that was as far as his foresight went.

"Oh, and another thing."

"What?"

"Is anyone retrieving the crystal from Niflheim?"

"Yeah, Aranea and Dave are preparing to go tomorrow."

"Tell them to put the Crystal on Angelguard. Regis told me that if the crystal ever gets stolen, leave it on that island if we get it back."

"Got it, gonna tell them that after we finish dinner." Gladio turned towards Ignis "Dude, this food tastes as good as ever! Leave it to you to cook with no eyesight better than most people could with the ability to see! But how do you measure your ingredients?"

"I mostly get a "feel" of the ingredients I'm using but when I need absolutely precise measurements my sous chef assists me."

"That would be me!" Cindy proudly pointed at herself "I may not be that good at cooking right now, but while you guys were away for a month I learned some basic tips from Iggy."

"If you want, I could teach you how to make desserts. It's the one thing I'm better than Ignis when it comes to cooking."

"Is that true, Iggy?"

"Indeed it is, when it comes to confectionaries, Iris edges me out"

"I'm impressed! You really need to teach me when things are less...urgent"

"Speaking of urgency...May I speak to you in private Cindy?"

"Of course Ignis" Cindy turned towards the others "Excuse us" the duo left the makeshift dining room to go outside.

"What do you want to talk about, Ignis?"

"The situation involving the starscourge and the endless night are escalating in a rate that exceeds my predictions."

"Yeah, and with Noct gone for who knows how long, we just have to deal with this crap…"

Ignis grabbed her hands, interlacing their fingers. The feel of her calloused and scratched fingers was a familiar sensation for him, it almost had a calming effect on the Advisor. He needed to be calm in order to say. "I may need to assist my allies out of the field sooner than later. I forsee I can only spend a couple of extra months training with Aranea and Cid before I need to go and help my friends."

Cindy stood silent for what seemed to be an eternity and Ignis hated the fact that he couldn't see the look on her face. He expected her to vehemently refuse his decision and scold him for his (admittedly) impulsive decision. Instead the bubbly mechanic gently ran her hands over his cheek, gently brushing her thumb over his scar. She let out a defeated sigh before speaking "I knew this was gonna happen sooner than later. It would selfish of me to keep ya in here when you're obviously capable enough to fight and save people. I mean, I saw the way you move sparring with Pa' and Aranea."

"Thank you for being so understanding under these trying circumstances. But I promises you I won't do anything crucial before I regain my sight with my "good eye". I would hope regaining at least some of my vision will bring me back up to speed."

"Damn, you seem confidant. Why did you bring out here alone to tell me about something we both knew you were gonna do?"

"I...wanted to gain your approval of my return. I value your support and opinions Cindy. And I believe more people should appreciate all that you have done for them. After all, the anti-daemons lights you invented are are trumps card in combating the ever encroaching darkness"

"I don't care if I don't receive any credit, hell I think that the people fighting and rescuin' refugees are the real heroes here. I'm just happy that you think that highly of me. But I'm kinda annoyed that I have to live up to your high expectations now."

"Well you did know that I pursue only the most worthy women…" Ignis finished his statement with a small chuckle before stealing a kiss from his girlfriend. Cindy petulantly stuck her tongue out and giggled. "Alright, but before you do anything crazy with your friends you have to promise me you won't die. I'm pretty sure you're the only guy alive that PawPaw won't hassle me for dating and if you get killed I won't hear the end of it!"

"I promise you that I'll continue to see you whenever we're not on a mission."

"Good, we should probably go back to the dinner table. If we stay out here any longer they might think we're making out or somethin'"

"Well, I wouldn't be _opposed_ to the idea…"

"Iggy!"

0000

"I appreciate the fact that you kept my katana in the care of that woman. I can now see that you are nearly useless without a weapon." the Warrior King was repeatedly pounding Noct with his well trained fists. A couple more to the chest and a leg sweep signalled the end of the fight.

"I give! I give! I can't believe I still have nine years left of being a punching bag for my ancestors…"

"You have my sympathies. The path destiny chose for you is a hard one. Every decision I made during my tenure as a king was a decision I had a hand in. You however, had your fate ordained by the crystal and it's a difficult journey. I sincerely do believe that the training you undergo in the Astral Plane will forge you into an unflappable Ruler."

"Thanks...It's good to have some sympathy for once in here. The Conqueror King keeps giving me grief over my destiny. The guy always brags about how he "defeated countless insurgents with his mighty axe" and it's really annoying!"

"That sounds about right for the conqueror. He thinks that if he can do great things, than anyone who dares complain about any hardship is a weakling. I'm happy to see someone such as myself in here…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when a King or Queen of Lucis ascends to the Astral Plane they are stripped of everything but their most prized attributes. That is why with the exception of the Founder of Lucis, Princeps most of us go by adjectives that describe us. Only the noble Princeps, The first King is great enough to retain his individuality in this eternal abyss"

" _More like the douchebag made a deal with the Astrals to stay powerful after death"_ Noctis thought. "So what traits did you carry over?"

"I was once a king content with his kingdom. Peace was always a goal we had in mind but the winds of destiny decreed that my rule would be marred with warfare. My beloved Queen was always at my side whenever we went into day, she...was struck down from behind, coward couldn't even look in the eyes as he took her life. I changed from that moment. I became a ruthless warrior, hell bent on avenging my wife. I stopped reacting to attacks on Lucis and invaded countless nations. I thought that if I could unite all lands under the nation of Lucis than no more wars could be waged and needless bloodshed would be ceased"

"A violent idealist, that's an oxymoron I never thought I'd hear…"

"after countless massacres, I stepped down from my position, I realized what a monster I had become and spent the rest of days in exile."

"Someone must have cared for you because when I got your katana you were in a tomb like the rest of the kings."

'Was I? It's nice to know that someone cared for an old disgrace like me…"

"I know this may be a bit personal but, can you tell me more about your wife? It seemed that you two were pretty close."

"Unfortunately, most of memories that weren't related to my grief were stripped from me over the years. I lament the fact that in this endless abyss of time, I cannot reminisce about our time together."

"Oh...I'm so sorry"

"Savor it."

"Excuse me?"

"When you go back to the realm of the living. Savor every second you have with your people, especially with the woman you love."

 _I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna live through my fight with Ardyn but…_ Shrugging those thoughts off Noctis thanked his distant ancestor for his kind words. "You think...You think that she's still waiting for me out there? I mean, I wouldn't blame her for thinking I died and moving on with her life…"

"Well, since all the warriors in Eos share our power, I'm pretty sure they are well aware that you are alive and trying to help them. Plus, I can still sense that she is using my katana meaning the bond she shares with you is still strong."

"That's a relief. I can't wait to see her again, I've known her since I was a child…"

"Really now? I would like to know more about the woman who captured your heart. "

"Well, she's the younger sister of my Shield, Gladiolus. Iris Amicitia, even as a kid I felt that we had some sort of connection. She was the one person I knew for sure liked me just for me and not because I was a prince. Like, Ignis and Gladiolus friends are amazing people but sometimes I wonder if they weren't my Advisor and Shield, would they would still be friends with me? And Prompto acted like we didn't know each other when we first started high school, It's like he re-introduced himself after he found out I was a king.

When I heard I was going to get married to the Oracle, Lunafreya I was devastated. For myself and her. We both had to give up any chance of love because we had to get married to forge peace between Niflheim and Lucis. As you can see, the peace treaty didn't work out and Luna was murdered my Ardyn"

"I sometimes see The Oracle commune with the Astrals in this place. She always seemed to be accompanied by another gentleman, Nyx was his name I think?"

"Yeah, Nyx Ulric. He was a member of the KingsGlaive and apparently, he and Luna hit it off after they escaped the invasion of Lucis. Ardyn murdered Nyx too."

"At least they seem to be happy in the afterlife.."

"I mean, I guess. Luna's life was one terrible event after another. I find it hard to believe that she still has faith in the Astrals after all the shit that happened to her. I mean, she's still healing the spirits of the men and women affected by the Starscourge in the afterlife!"

"Her unwavering optimism in the face of unspeakable odds is quite admirable. I wish I had the same mental fortitude."

As the two Kings were speaking, Princeps was having a secret meeting with Bahamut about the nature of truth and Noctis's knowledge of the True Chosen King.

"What's stopping him from revealing the truth of my Ascension?"

" **Noctis knows that the cost of defeating Ardyn is his own life. He won't have time to reveal anything to his people."**

"And once he arrive to the Astral Plane, we better strip him of most of his traits and memories so that the truth never comes out."

" **Noctis will indeed be changed when his journey comes to an end…"** Thankfully, Bahamut and Noctis formed a plan that will effectively atone for the sins of the Astrals. But the time has not yet come to enact such a plan…

000

 ***Six years into the darkness***

"Ya know, I'm still kinda shocked that Iggy of all people will get a girl knocked up before me or Prompto.." Gladiolus swung his greatsword at a raging Gargantua before leaping on the Giant's head and bashing it in with his shield.

"Yeah Iggy, WTF? Like were you or Cindy drunk when it happened?"

"For the last you two, we weren't inebriated when we discussed conceiving a child! We both knew the risks of having a baby in such harrowing times and we both decided to-"

"Take the plunge?" Gladio suggestively wiggled his eyebrow as he finished his friend's sentence

"Ha-Ha. Let's just clear this area so Cid could install the last of the anti-daemon lights in Tenebrae. Once we get everything installed then we could move some refugees here."

"Thank Gods we have another place for people to live, remember when everyone was cramped in Lestallum? Those were dark times...Thankfully, the former Niflheim army helped us stabilize Altissia so that people could move back in. It's a good things that daemons don't live in the water or travelling between the islands would have been impossible."

"I bet Cid is super pissed at you that he has to do his grand-daughter's work for her."

"Not exactly Prompto, he was elated when we revealed that he was going to become a great-grandfather. He was also happy that he had a chance to do something with his newfound vigor since Cindy was obviously sidelined."

"Hmph, touché my friend."

"I really thought a whole world full of daemons would be a nightmare. I mean, don't get me wrong, it sucks; but I thought things would be a lot worse. Like, not having sun should destroy the ecosystem but plants are growing just fine and daemons seem to actively ignore animals unless they attacked first. Hell, even solar power is still working!"

"Any word on Noct's progress, Gladio?"

"Well the last time Gentiana visited was about a month ago so I'm not totally up to speed but the gist seems to be that Noct is gonna train for another four years and defeat Ardyn."

"Where do you guys think Mr. Big, Mean, and Lean is? I mean, nobody reported seeing him after he left Gralea after trapping Noct in the crystal."

"My guess is that he's holed up in the throne room in the Citadel, waiting for Noct to come back. Dave and Cor attempted to perform several reconnaissance missions to infiltrate the capital but apparently the daemons that roam around the Citadel are too much for the scouting team to handle."

"Yo guys, it looks like we're done with the daemons. Let's radio back to Loqi and Cid so they can put in the last lights." Prompto took a look around the ruins of Tenebrae, and whistiled wistfully at the magical sights he was seeing. Tenebrae was relatively vertical so cars weren't a huge factor in the former home of the Fleurets, instead elevators were used extensively to get around. Most of the walkways were pretty narrow so only small time daemons such as imps and goblins could spawn. The more open areas of the country were filled with lights to protect the people. "We should crash her for a while! What do you guys say?"

"Sorry Prompto, My place in Lestallum is finally free from the refugees that stayed over and I'm sure Ignis is content with living with Cindy" a nod from the Advisor assured Gladio hunch.

"Ugh, you guys are _boring_."

"Why not invite that painter from Altissia you've been courting, Prompto? What was her name, May? Yes, invite May!"

"Come on guys, there's nothing going on between me and her!"

"Then why are you blushing so hard? Come one man, she's cute, she appreciates your photography, and she's into you!"

"You guys really think so?"

"Indeed we do. I believe that she would adore living in such a scenic location. Tenebrae is filled with breathtaking vistas that would make for gorgeous paintings and photos"

"You know what? Thanks for the confidence boost guys! I'm gonna ask her out as soon as the mission is done!"

"That's the spirit Prompto!"

0000

Gladio was sitting on his old camp chair right outside Hammerhead. Next to him was a cooler filled with beer that he decided to indulge in. Inside, Cindy was giving birth to her and Ignis' kid. He figured that he's hang out as to not congest the already crowded building. His little sister bought a doctor all the way from Lestallum to assist with the birth so he knew that he wasn't needed.

"Care to have some company?"

"Ignis? I thought that you would be at your wife's side?"

"You know how superstitious Cindy could be. She believes that it's bad luck for men to be in the delivery room so I decided to find some company out here. Prompto's waiting outside the delivery room so he could snap a quick photo so I guess it's just the two of us."

"Oh, well if that's the case; pull out a chair and join me. I'd offer you a beer but I know that you're more of a wine kinda guy."

"Actually, I would like a beer." Ignis smirked at the bewildered expression of his old friend "It's been quite a journey...for all of us."

"I'd say. Remember when we first started high school? We thought that growing up and serving Noct would be the most boring job ever. Little did we know, eh?"

"Indeed. Here we are enjoying an eternal night while daemons are roaming about. I have one eye and you have scars on your face and chest inflicted by the legendary Gilgamesh."

"When you put it that way, it _does_ seem pretty damn crazy…"

"I would like to apologize, Gladio?"

"Huh, for what?"

"When we were young, I promised that you'd be the best man at my wedding. Cindy and I eloped, however. Two years ago we decided that if we waited for everything to get back to normal to get married, either of us may not have lived to see the dawn. I proposed and we got married immediately afterwards."

"Why the hell would I care about that? I know that a traditional wedding was out of the question in the circumstances we're in right now. So you have nothing to apologize for.

...If you make me the Godfather, of course."

Ignis chuckled "I wouldn't have it any other way, old friend"

"Huh, old friend...I guess we kinda are old friends at this point. We knew each other since we were kids and went through school together. I kinda miss back when we were just bros on the road without any responsibilities…"

"Well, when Noct returns and we beat Ardyn once and for all, we can have some well deserved rest."

"Here's hoping! Tell you what, let's make a toast! A toast for your future child, may she live a fruitful life!"

The sound of two bottles clinking together sealed the deal. Both man guzzled their drinks without a care in the world. They were so engrossed in their drinking that they failed to notice Iris step out of the building to deliver the news.

"Hey guys, the baby arrived! Come on Ignis, let's go see your daughter!"

The two men hurried to Ignis and Cindy's room, on the way, Prompto shot a candid photo of the two, earning a glare from both men. They arrived to see an exhausted Cindy with almost all their friends and allies gathered around her. The women who had been in the room when she was delivering the baby- Iris, Aranea, Sania, Monica, Camelia, Holly, Coctura, May and Gentiana were huddle close to Cindy, leaving and opening for Ignis to see his wife and baby. The men arrived right before them and they were various parts of the room. Cor, Weskham, Vyv, Wiz, Dino, Dave, Takka, Talcott, Biggs and Wedge. Prompto was right behind them, camera at hand and Cid was asleep.

Prompto was about to take a picture of the now complete Aurum-Scientia family when he heard a grumble from the exhausted mechanic "Prompto, if you use flash photography on my newborn daughter I'm gonna kill you!" Prompto silently sunk to the bottom of the room. Cindy then turned her face towards her husband with a weathered smile "I think our daughter would wanna to be held by her daddy."

Stepping forward through the crowd, Ignis hesitantly reached out for the baby. He held this fragile, beautiful being in his arms and tears streamed down his face. Their girl was adorable, her eyes were spitting image of her mother's, all bright and green and he could see a tuft of brown hair mirroring his own locks on the baby's diminutive head. He held onto her for seemingly an eternally until he heard Iris call out "So...you guys already thought of a name for her?"

"Well, I pushed this little girl out of me so I'm too beat to think of anything. Iggy is smart though, so he'll think of something good."

All eyes were now trained on Ignis as he held their child. "I believe Aulena would be an appropriate name for our girl." He turned his wife "is that good for you?"

"I think it's a beautiful name, Iggy! Okay, I'm pretty damn tired so you guys go party while I go to sleep." The doctor in the room took the baby in her care while the group went outside to celebrate the birth of Aulena. Ignis opted to sit in a chair next to his wife.

"Yo Iggy, you gonna come outside or what?"

"In a moment Gladio, I would like to speak to my wife."

"You know she's sleeping right?"

"I'm well aware of her state of consciousness."

As Gladio exited, Ignis softly held his wife's sleeping hand and whispered "rest well, Cindy. I love you and I intend to shower you and Aulena with as much affection as I could muster." He softly kissed his wife's cheek before going outside.

Unbeknownst to Ignis, a small smile graced his wife's sleeping lips as he left.


	16. Chapter 16-Homecoming

"Alright, this is it Bahamut."

" **The time has come to reclaim your throne, King of Light. Are you ready to fulfill your destiny?"**

"Course I am" Noctis answered with a cocky smile, his time trainings with the kings and Queens of old increased his confidence. He was certain that he could defeat Ardyn but what he planned to do afterwards got him a bit nervous. "You ready to help me fix all this after I kill Ardyn?"

" **I will do everything in power to assist you."**

"Thanks, what's the status on the other Astrals?"

" **Ramuh and Shiva jumped at a chance to atone for their sins and once I convinced titan that that our goal was to silence Princeps for good he joined our mission. Leviathan is too wild to trust and so I omitted her from our plan."**

"Yeah...not telling Leviathan seems like a good idea. I can't believe it's almost time for me to come back to the land of the living. I hope my friends aren't too hung up about my disappearance…"

" **I assure you that you will receive a warm welcome, Noctis. Now go forth and free Eos from darkness!"**

0000

Ten years had passed since the sun set for the last time in Eos. when the world is devoid of light for that long, people get used to it. There were actually children who never had the blessing of experiencing the gaze of sunbeams upon their body. To them, the sun was simply a legend that their parents and older sibling told them about. The bright anti-daemon lights were the only lights that people could rely on now. The Hunters and the remaining members of the Crownsguard were similarly hailed as the "light in the darkness". Their unwavering devotion to saving refugees and combating daemons led to them being seen as heroes and in the case of the Crownsguard, celebrities."

It wasn't uncommon for the King's former entourage to receive letters and autograph from fans. Women were disappointed that Gladio, the one member of the King's entourage who for the longest time was still single convinced Gentiana to actually be his girlfriend. Gladio hoped that his union with a Goddess would make his fangirls stop harassing him, a notion that was laughed at from Ignis and Prompto.

"You really think having an Astral as a girlfriend is going to stop obsessive fans? Oh, you sweet summer child…"

"The hell are you talking about, Prompto?"

"I'm saying that even Gentiana is now going to get harassed by your fans. Let's hope she doesn't have any social media accounts. Crazy stalkers are known to send death threats to any significant other you have."

"Prompto is correct, I've had Cindy tell me she got some rather peculiar writings in her mailbox accusing her of being a witch that used her wiles to steal me from them. You would think that they would be more grateful to the woman who gave humanity a chance to survive in this world of darkness…"

"You gotta be kidding me…but I'm sure Gen isn't the one to have any social media profiles

"And that doesn't even account for the weird fanfiction they write about us. You don't how many times I saved people and in return they gave me some _really detailed_ stuff they wrote about me and Noctis. There's a lot of crazy stuff involving you too big guy, mostly with Ignis."

"How the hell do you guys know this stuff?!"

"There is quite a bit of...graphic artwork centered about Aranea and I. According to May, some of the art demonstrate amazing skill and she's baffled why such talent is wasted on drawing such odd smut. Though I suppose the lack of sun made recreating the gorgeous landscapes of Eos a tad bit harder…"

"Yeesh, you think my little sis gets it as bad as we do?"

"Let's all hope not…"

"I feel super bummed out that we're on a mission during her birthday. I mean, it's good that Cor gave her a day off but the only other person who doesn't have a mission today is Aranea."

"Man, Aranea and Iris are pretty good friends. I bet that they are having a good time drinking in Lestallum right now! Let's just transport this stuff to Altissia and then meet up with them!"

"Prompto is correct, the faster we reach our objective the faster we get to go and celebrate with Iris"

0000

The birthday girl and the Dragoon were busy "celebrating" Iris' 29th birthday, and by "celebrate" they mean "get super drunk". The bar they were in, the "Roaring behemoth" was a relatively new bar that Aranea had a majority stake in. It was a pretty classy, located in the formerly rich part of Lestallum before the Starscourge became bad. Aranea wanted to treat one of her friends and "mission buddies" to a good time. She also secretly wanted to know more about Gladio's little sister. All the Dragoon knew is that Iris and Noctis were pretty serious about their relationship and that they knew each other since they were kids. It must have been hard to see Noctis disappear into the crystal. Her thoughts were interrupted by the bartender asking for their drinks.

"I'll have the usual, Kurt. Ask what the birthday girl wants."

"Of course. Whatever drink ya want, I could make it for ya!"

"I'll just have a beer please, thanks you." Kurt almost seemed disappointed by the simple request as he left to make their drinks.

"Wow, going with a regular beer? You really are Gladio sister."

"Oh ha-ha, I'm just not into those fancy drinks"

"Whatever you say. Anyway, how's it feel being almost thirty?"

"Well, it feels a little easier celebrating happy events now that the world is settled."

"Mm-hm, must suck that you couldn't have more peaceful birthday parties when your were in your early to mid twenties because once you hit thirty you start dreading birthdays."

"Why would you care? You still look gorgeous!"

"You tend to age gracefully when you naturally have grey hair!" both women burst out laughing.

"Look at us, didn't even have a drink yet and we're already yucking it up!"

"Speak of the devil, looks like Kurt is here"

"A beer for the birthday girl and a Malboro Martini for owner of this establishment." Kurt handed them their drinks and quickly left to clean glasses, stating that cleaning glassware "Calmed his nerves" the way smoking does for other people. Aranea never questioned his quirks since he was a good worker.

Iris wolfed down her drink easily enough but grimaced when she saw the malboro tentacle inside Aranea's drink. Aranea laughed at her reaction to her drink "You know a malboro root actually adds a nice "unique" flavor in a drink, right?"

"I don't know if I'm hardcore enough to eat or drink anything that has to do with malboros…"

"I thought you'd be more open to the idea, seeing as how you have a pretty nice malboro tattoo going down you're right arm." Aranea pointed at the detailed painting of the poisonous plant beast that was on her skin.

"The Amicitia family were the King's shields for generations Aranea. When we are deemed worthy by a superior, we would get a tattoo that represents something about ourselves. Gladdy got a tattoo of an eagle when he turned eighteen and beat dad in a swordfight, he chose his eagle because it represented "valor and strength". I got the malboro tattoo during my first solo mission. I had to rescue a group of hunters from a malboro in the Cleigne swamp. It took me three hours to kill that thing while the injured hunters escaped and I almost died a couple times. After I got back to the hunter HQ, Gladdy told me that if I wanted, I earned my "Shield tattoo"

"And you chose the malboro you killed."

"That was my hardest battle I fought up until that point, it was at that moment where I realized that the world had gone to hell and only we could make it safe for all the people who can't fight back. And I sorta felt that I had a connection with malboro…"

"You're joking, right?"

"I'm serious! After I killed that thing, researchers discovered it had a nest nearby in the swamp. They concluded that the malboro thought the hunters were a threat to her unborn children and attacked them. That thing fought me four hours to save her eggs and it died protecting her family. I felt for the thing and so I decided to etch it's image on my arm, as a reminder of what I fight for."

"...That's really cheesy. But, it's also really sweet. Fighting for the people you love sounds better than fighting for a paycheck, like I did back then."

"But ever since Niflheim fell, you've been fighting for Eos like everyone else! Plus, ten years ago you were robbing Niflheim of their money!"

"True. Speaking of love, it looks like those guys at that table are eyeing you pretty hard…"

"What! I think they're most interested in you. "

"Nah, they all want to get to know the famed Daemon Slayer. You look good, girl! Didn't Vyv complain that after your brother and Ignis did a photoshoot to attract more female readers to his magazine that a lot of men were clamoring for you to do a photoshoot…"

"I don't think I know any sexy poses like my brother does. And how the hell did Vyv convince Ignis of all people to pose shirtless?!"

"Apparently, Ignis combines the "mysterious coolness" of having scars and "the refined and dignified looks of a gentleman" that drives the girls wild, according to Vyv. Plus, Cindy convinced him to do it as a birthday gift for her."

"Oh, God. I can't imagine having my pictures gawked at by guys who buy Vyv's magazine like how girls stare at my Gladdy and Ignis."

"I don't think not having pictures of you in a swimsuit is stopping them from staring at you. I don't know if you're willing to admit it but you're pretty damn gorgeous!"

Aranea was right, of course. It took longer than she hoped but Iris grew out of her "girly" look that made her look younger than she really was. She was happy that she put on an impressive amount of muscles that accentuated her more than ample bust. Cor taught her that lower body strength was more important than a lot of people would like to think and she took his words to heart. At this point in her life, Iris was used to squatting into the triple digits. She wasn't to humble to admit that her legs and ass looked _amazing_. And to top it all off, her chestnut hair that she used to have frame her face was now long enough to reach her back, she had to put into a rather long ponytail to get it under control.

"While those guys do look decent, I'm still technically in a relationship…"

"Still waiting for Prince charming? You're as stubborn as your brother."

"We Amicitias pride ourselves on our stubborn fortitude! And besides, the wait for Noct coming back has been much easier with Gentiana giving us updates for his return."

The buzzing of Aranea's phone took her out of the conversation. "Excuse me iris, this is a call from Cor. Gotta take it!" Iris watched as Aranea's jaw drop in shock. She was terrified at what could make a seasoned Like Aranea so shook; did daemons overrun one of the cities that were under hunter protection? Did any of their friends die in battle? Her fears were cut short when she saw Aranea's face morph into a triumphant smile. The Dragoon put the phone down and could barely contain the joy in her words.

"Noctis is back, and he's arriving in Lestallum soon."

0000

Iris pushed through the huge crowd that was gathered around the returning King. She thought about how stupid Noct was that he was found wandering a random road when Talcott found him. _"Uh, if he would have died right after he came back…"_ she heard some people complain that she butting in line to see Noctis but why the fuck would she care? She hadn't seen her boyfriend in ten years, she should take priority over everyone else! She saw the King surrounded by Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis. It was just like the old days, of traveling the land in the regalia with all of them.

When she saw Noct, she couldn't help but tear up. He looked rugged and mature, a far cry from the pretty-boy prince that she knew and loved. He actually had a beard! And not like the dinky beard Prompto grew in an attempt to look cool, but a full, honest to Gods, Regal looking beard! Then Noctis caught her in his line of vision. The battle-ready King briefly took a rest and his face for a short moment returned to that of the awkward prince. Similarly, for a moment Iris went back in time ten years and became the lovestruck teen that somehow caught the eye of the prince. It was like some sort of bad romance novel. For what seemed like an eternity, the two just stared at each other while the rest of the world grew silent. Aranea pushing iris out of the crowd and into Noctis' arms forced the two to do something other than stare at each other. Namely, giving each other long overdue "welcome back" hugs.

"Noctis! It's been ten years! I...actually don't know what to say now that you're back…"

"Well you can start by acknowledging how strong I've gotten. Look, I'm actually lifting you up in this hug!" Iris looked down and noticed that her feet were actually off the ground. This shocked her because A. She was used to being the strong friend who lifted other people up during hugs (being the Shield's sister means you have to stay strong) and B. Noctis was the opposite of strong back then.

"Wow...training with your ancestors really paid off…"

"Thanks. I gotta say, long hair suits you. Leave it to you to somehow get hotter fighting daemons for a decade…"

"You don't look too bad yourself. I really like the beard, makes you look king-ly."

"King-ly? Is that an actual term?"

"Well it should be!"

The lovers' reunion was cut short by Ignis "I'd hate to interrupt you two but we need to discuss how Noctis intends to defeat Ardyn and I would like it if we did that sooner than later. I have a child to tuck into bed."

Noctis' eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Since when did you have a kid specs?"

"I don't really recall, but if I were to guess I'd say it happened between today and ten years ago, your Majesty."

"Okay, I walked into that one. Alright, let's go to the hunters' HQ so I could tell you all that I've learned in my ten years trapped in the crystal. You're all going to have a seat as I tell you what I know…

0000

"What the actual fuck."

Gladiolus' reaction summed up what everyone was thinking after Noct told them his tale. Even the usually unflappable Cor was aghast at what he just heard. The entire Lucis line of Kings started because a jealous reject stole the throne from it's true heir- Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Not only did the great Princeps Lucis Caelum stole his name from Ardyn but he effectively erased any records of Ardyn from the history books. The Astrals neglected to help the one that they screwed over and now need Noctis to help them. Noct was supposed to defeat Ardyn and restore light upon this world.

Of course Noct made a different plan with the Astrals. Most of the Astrals, led by Bahamut felt that they needed atonement for the grievous sins they committed eons ago. He couldn't reveal what his plan was at the moment but he felt pretty confident.

"So what's the plan to invade Insomnia? Ardyn's holed up in the throne waiting for you…" Gladio asked Noct

"I think a team of Me, Cor, Aranea, Prompto, Ignis, Iris, ten of Dave's elite hunters and you should be able to breach the throne room. Monica, Talcott, Weskham, Cid and the rest of the hunters will be needed to defend Lestallum, Tenebrae, and Altissia. We're gonna storm Insomnia tomorrow at 1900 hours"

"It took you ten years to come up with that plan?"

"I was training to defeat Ardyn for ten years, Cor. Besides, my real plan _starts_ after Ardyn is dead."

"So we should all just get some rest now? Where are you going to stay Noct?"

"To be honest Prompto, didn't really think about where I'd stay…"

"Why not stay with me?" Noctis missed hearing the sweet tones of iris' voice. "I have a place in Lestallum that you could crash in…"

"I'm gonna have to take you up on that offer Iris…"

0000

Fuck, he missed this. Here they were, naked and sprawled on her bed. Only this time, they never had to worry about waking up any of their companions since she lived here alone. After ten years of training with his ancestors to prepare him for his destiny, Noctis felt like thanking whatever deity that made it so he could have a brief respite with the woman he loved.

"C'mon Noctis, Harder!"

Iris was lying on the bed, the ponytail she usually had hair in was undone and her chestnut locks were splayed across the bed. She was the picture of reckless abandon and right now she demanded his attention. He listened of course, after all, what kind of king doesn't listen to his people?

The king took a moment to steady himself and plunged into her. The resulting groan from Iris was like music to his ears. His girlfriend was always more...ahem, *experienced* then he was. (He had to devote his time to learning how to be a good ruler) and he felt a swell of prides when he realized he could get her to react like that. His pride was what kept him from climaxing then and there as well. Sliding into her velveteen walls almost drove him completely crazy and the breathy moans escaping her mouth weren't helping things for him. Thankfully, all the meditating he did while training with his ancestors kept him as cool as a cucumber. He just had to keep up the pressure until she couldn't tak-

"OH FUCK, NOCTIAUUGH!"

Well, there it was. The king held up for a couple more moments before climaxing just as his consort did. He collapsed on the bed next to her and let out a sigh of satisfaction as Iris rolled on top of him to nuzzle her head on his chest.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this…" Iris said between pants

"I think if anyone knew how you felt it would be me. I'm actually kinda shocked that you didn't move on. Ten years is a lot of time to wait for a guy…"

Iris lifted her head from his to chest to look the king in his eyes "You'd think I would just settle for someone else while you were doing everything you can to help humanity from the other side? Do you think I'm that heartless? And besides, dating royalty kinda spoils you!"

"Thanks for alleviating some of my fears. But I don't think anything is gonna stop me from being afraid of what's gonna happen tomorrow…"

"I think that all of us could beat Ardyn. I mean you do have the full power of the Crystal and all your ancestors, well except the shitty one that made Ardyn the dick he is today."

"It's not defeating Ardyn I'm afraid of...It's what I'm gonna do afterwards..."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"I'm gonna destroy the Crystal in the Astral Plane. With the Crystal dead, the line of Lucis Kings and Queens will be severed from the world of the living. Ardyn will be able to die since his life is tied to the crystal and so will the other Rulers of Lucis."

"Wait...but that means…"

"I'm probably going to die too...And not just me...the Astrals will also die since they tied the Crystal to their power too. The Astrals besides Leviathan are in on my plan...they told me they want to atone for Ardyn's downfall…"

"Is there any other way?"

"I was supposed to kill Ardyn and sacrifice myself to end his life for good. So either way I'm dead. I'd rather pick the option that makes up for the mistakes of my family."

"I see…" Noctis could tell that Iris was attempting to hide the tears streaming down her face. He gently wiped them away from her face before giving her a hug.

"I'm sorry I have to leave you so soon."

"It was worth it."

"What?"

"This relationship was worth it. All the waiting and heartache that's going to happen soon...If I could do all this again...I would."

"Do...do you really mean that?"

"Course I do! I mean, we weren't even supposed to be together considering you were supposed to be married to Lady Lunafreya…"

"She's actually pretty happy with Nyx in the Afterlife."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I feel like we need to get back on topic. I'd say it was worth it too."

"I'm glad we're on the same page here, Noct."

"Before everything goes down tomorrow, I just to tell you that...seeing you here now...after all this time...It's...more than I could take…" It was Noctis' turn to shed tears."

"Yeah...It's hard for me too…."

"I love you, Iris. I was too afraid to say before we went to Gralea but I'm not gonna chicken out now! I love you Iris Amicitia."

"I love you too, Noctis Lucis Caelum."

0000

Ignis was having a nice meal with his family. He felt that this was the thing he needed to do to calm his nerves. The spectacled man looked across the table at his now four year daughter. She was a spitting image of Cindy but had long hair that was unmistakably his colour. She was a precocious little rascal, always asking her mother and great-grandfather questions about their life's work. Cindy always had time to indulge her daughter with tales of her line of work but he was surprised when even the usually cranky Cid readily listened to her questions and spent time with her.

"Mommy, is daddy going on a super-secret mission to fight daemons again?"

"Even better sweetheart, your father is goin' to help bring the sun back!"

"Whoa, Really daddy!"

Ignis sometimes forgot that Aulena never saw the sun in her life. To be honest, he was afraid that she would develop vision problems due to the abscenes of the sun in the sky but to his luck, her and the bevy of children who were born during the age of darkness had normal eyesight. No doubt due to the bright UV lights his wife made.

"Yes...We're going to defeat the vile villain who caused all the trouble in the world!" Ignis deliberately made his words sound more dramatic to appease his daughter.

"Wow! Who else is going to go?"

"Well Uncle Gladio and Prompto are going to join me. Aunt Iris and General Cor and Commodore Aranea are going to be joining me as well."

"What about your friend? The one mommy said came back yesterday?"

"King Noctis? He is going to help us fight too! Together, there is nothing that can stop us!"

"That confident, eh?" Cindy side-eyed her husband with a smirk.

"Well, Gladio informed me that Gentiana and the rest of the Astrals, save Leviathan were in on Noctis' plan to defeat Ardyn. I trust all of the people involved to make this right…"

"Aren't you worried that you'll get hurt, daddy?"

"With all of us together, I know we can succeed! I promise you, Aulena. You shall see the sun rise when we come back!"

"Never thought you were one for pep talks, honey…"

"I can't be the stoic adviser _all of the time_ …" Ignis and Cindy burst in a fit of laughter. Aulena imitated her parents and let out a soft giggle as well. She was so excited to see the sun for the first time in her life.

0000

The journey getting into Insomnia was easier than Noct thought. Apparently, Cor found an underground passage that led towards the city that was free from the larger and more intimidating daemons. The only things that could fit in there were low level goblin family daemons. They arrived not far from the Citadel, Ardyn was no doubt lounging on the throne waiting for the saviors of Lucis to arrive at his feet. The six "generals" turned towards King Noctis for a battle plan.

"We gonna find the shortest way towards the Citadel, no unnecessary daemon fights. Ardyn would want us to waste our energy taking out the elite daemons that roam the streets." Noctis took a moment to look at the city's infrastructure before returning his focus on his allies.

"Alright, despite the fact that the city looks like shit, it looks like the general layout of the place wasn't messed up during the attack. I spent a lot off time navigating the city streets to get away from Ignis and my duties as a prince."

"Those were the good old days, Noct…"

"Yeah it was awesome, wasn't it Iggy? But anyway, if we stick in the alleys and rooftops then we could stay away from the majority of the daemons. It will easier now that we can all warp up places. Seriously, once you get used to it you'll wonder how you lived life without it!"

"Nice pep-talk Noctis…"

"Don't mention it, Iris! Now I hope none of you are afraid of heights!"

The ragtag platoon prowled the rooftops in an effort to get as close as possible to the center of the city without wasting time fighting any monsters. While they were safer up there then in the streets, powerful daemons still spawned on the rooftops.

An intimidating samurai looking creature appeared right in front of the group, it's glare begging for a fight. Even though the creature appeared to have one of its arms in a sling that didn't stop it from being scary as hell. Cor and Iris stepped up to take of the beast.

"that daemon is as noble as they come. All they desire is a duel with others who wield a katana like it does. It should be content with Iris and I." Iris gave a nod in agreement.

Knowing better than to question the two veterans, the king let them past but not without observing something odd about the daemon.

"Hey Gladio."

"Yeah?"

"with the way that thing has one good arm and the patterns and colors of the kimono it's wearing doesn't he remind you of that game we used to play?"

"Which one?"

"The RPG with the awkward voice acting and funny outfits."

"Oh, you mean Last Myth EX?"

"Yeah!"

"We should make Ignis name it after one of the character in that game! You know, when he adds it to the bestiary?"

"That's an excellent idea Prompto! I shall dub it "Yojimbo" I will write it down immediately!"

"While you dorks were talking about videogames, me and Cor killed that thing."

"Weren't you into sappy romance novels when you were younger, lil' sis?"

"touche"

"Guys, we're at the Citadel!" Prompto pointed at the gate that led to the courtyard. It would have been a straightforward walk to the throne room if it weren't for the gigantic Behemoth King block their way.

"Who the hell decided that putting wings on a Behemoth fair?! Noctis was prepared to lead the charge to kill the beast among daemons when Aranea stepped up and gave a request.

"I'll handle the Behemoth with the hunters, you guys just head to the throne room and kill Ardyn."

"You sure 'bout that Aranea?"

"Of course I am! Hell, I trained some of these guys on how to use a spear. You guys have more of a beef with Ardyn than I do. The dude always paid me on time back when I worked with Niflheim so I'm good with you guys getting your shit in."

"Thanks Aranea…"

"No problem!" The Dragoon turned towards the hunters and gave them a pep talk "Alright you losers, you call yourselves hunters? Well this Behemoth is the most dangerous game! Let's show him just outclassed he really is!" the hunters cheered in agreement and followed Aranea down to the streets to fight.

While the beast was distracted the rest of the group entered from the front gates. Ardyn was ascending the stairs when he stopped and looked at the team. "You are so close to your goal, King Noctis! What's one more obstacle to overcome? This fiery fellow is like a blast from the past. Well, not from _your_ past of course, unless you're over a millenia in age but...Oh forget it! Let me introduce you to the Infernian! He doesn't share Shiva's fondness for humanity and he hates a certain human in particular for stealing his lover away."

Noctis steeled himself for the fight but was surprised when Gladio roughly grabbed his shoulder.

"Go kill Ardyn! We got this guy!"

"What? I can't abandon you all!"

"Noctis, it is your destiny to defeat him, you spent ten years building up your strength it would be a shame to waste it on this creature." Ignis' statement came with a nod from Prompto, Iris, and Cor. They agreed with the adviser.

"Alright...I better not come back and see you losing against this guy!"

"Well if we beat this God of fire before you kill an old man I might just break up with you!" Iris stuck her tongue out in a mocking fashion with her taunt to show that they weren't worried about the fight.

Noctis ran past the Infernian as the grimacing God laid his eyes on Gladio. After a short run inside the familiar building he saw Ardyn lounging on the throne.

"Ah, how poetic! The Astrals' latest puppet is going to battle with the Astrals' first puppet!"

"Just hear me out, Ardyn! I know what happened in your past and I know that I'm supposed to kill you and sacrifice myself to make sure you don't regenerate."

Ardyn's curiosity was piqued when he heard that Noct understood what was supposed to happen. It seemed that the Astrals didn't lie to their new chosen this time. But it seemed that Noctis had his own plan and he wanted him to cooperate? Ardyn was so intrigued that he couldn't help but listen.

"I wanna end my family line! It's all a lie and I want to atone for that lie! I know what Princeps and the Astrals did to you! How they abandoned you after all you had done for the world! I'm gonna end my line and let humanity start anew and destroy the crystal!'

"This gambit you are proposing is a risky venture indeed...You do know that you shall most likely die if you destroy the crystal than you will have a good chance of perishing as well…."

"I'm gonna die either way so i might as well die getting rid of Princeps!"

"Very well...I shall do what anything I can to help you in your ploy."

"I'm gonna have to...kill you."

"I was already planning to die in our final bout but in the interest of getting revenge I shall let you strike me down. I should warn you that I may take more than any man you ever fought against…"

With a smirk, Noctis summoned one his blades. "Oh, I'm cool with that! I still hate your guts but I thought you would agree with any plan to get back at your old friend. I'm gonna enjoy beating the shit of you!"

Ardyn chuckled in amusement and actually was a bit flattered. "Well after everything I've done to you and your friends, I do deserve everything you throw at me. Besides, it would cruel of me to deny you any satisfaction before your death…"

Noctis summoned the most brutal weapon he had, the chainsaw blade wielded by his ancestor and took his sweet time slicing Ardyn into ribbons.

"THIS IS FOR DAD!" there goes an arm…

"THIS FOR NYX!" Ardyn's guts were now spilling onto the expensive carpet...

"THIS IS FOR LUNA" a leg was lopped off this time…

Noctis continued his assault on Ardyn for quite some time. It might been the last time he'd get some joy in his life so he basked in it. It wasn't as fulfilling as his night with Iris but he couldn't exactly be picky. After Ardyn became an unrecognizable pulp, he put the ring on and awaited his fate.

"Here we go…"

0000

"I think we should let Ifrit fight Gladio fair and square. I mean the big guy did kinda steal his girlfriend…"

"Prompto! I am not letting you abandon my brother!"

In contrast to Noctis' "fight" with the chancellor, the rest of the new Kingsglaive were fighting for their lives. They were warping in and out of the battlefield, staying away from each other to keep the infernian distracted. The fiery fiend seemed to be impervious to all damage as he shrugged off attacks from even Gladio, Iris and Cor's legendary weapons.

"Shouldn't your katana do something against him Cor?! I mean, Shiva gave it to you, it should have some ice enchantments!"

"The only enhancement my Katana has is its durability and sharpness. Aside from that, It's pretty standard."

Prompto's ice magic grenades were the only things that seemed to slow down the fallen Astral, but even then they wouldn't last forever. The gunman was down to his last rounds and Ifrit was still going strong.

A frigid chill filled the air and Ifrit stopped to look around for the source. Gladio thought it was Ignis' powerful spells and thanks his spectacled friend only to have Ignis deny any involvement. It was only when Shiva herself appeared to aid the group did Ifrit seem scared.

"I apologise for my tardiness, I don't expect you all to defeat an Astral all by your lonesome." Shiva duplicated her multiple times before unleashing several blizzards towards the infernian's directions. The fire God forze and shattered. Gladio walked up to Shiva to try and comfort her.

"I'm sorry you had to do this...I know what he meant to you an-"

"This infernal being was merely a corpsed erected by Ardyn. I felt nothing but anger slaying that creature. Mostly because it was attacking the man who currently has my heart."

"That...uh...I mean….Thanks?"

"Smooth, Gladdy."

Gentiana chuckled at Iris' sarcasm before grabbing Gladio hands with her own. "I believe that this may be the last time we meet. How ironic that you were worried that this would not work out since you will die before me…"

"Wait, what does that me-" Gentiana cut him off with a brief kiss before fading away into the Astral Plane.

0000

Noctis stood in the endless void. The crystal was right in front of him, as were the kings of yore with Princeps being in the forefront. The Astrals were behind him waiting for the opportunity to strike. Unexpectedly, Nyx and Luna were there as well, no doubt to give Noct their moral support.

"Congratulations, O Chosen King. Your destiny awaits, you have slayed the darkness and all you need to do is touch the crystal to end the False king for good." Princeps spoke without a hint of remorse for his role in Ardyn's downfall.

"How about I kill the man who stole the throne from Ardyn Lucis Caelum and stole his name? The one who betrayed him and left him to rot? Princeps, you're a false king and I'm here to end this charade!"

The other kings were concerned about what Noct was saying but Princeps remained calm. "So you know the truth, it's too bad. I actually thought you were a decent ruler." before the other kings could react, Princeps took control of their bodies and _ripped_ the Royal Arms from Noctis' very being.

"I figured that you would try to destroy the Crystal. But seeing that the Royal Arms were the only weapons you have in this undying plane of existence, it looks like you have no means of fulfilling your goal.

Noctis smirked "Well, it's a good thing I decided to bring my own Royal Arm!" He pulled out his fully upgraded Engine Blade, dubbed the Ultima blade and started hitting the crystal. The gem started shattering as Princeps panicked and ordered the other rulers to stop Noct. The Astrals stepped in to stop them from touching Noct. Even leviathan was on Noct's side! Apparently, she hated the one arrogant human more than the rest of his species.

"Please, you don't understand what you're doing! If you destroy the Crystal, you destroy the entire Lucis line of kings!" Princeps was desperate to preserve his legacy of lies

"Well it's a good thing I never gave a shit about being a prince!" Noctis let out one last fit of mocking laughter at Princep's face before shattering the Crystal.

"What the fuck?!" Noctis found himself sitting on the throne, in the world of the living! Did...did he live? He felt his powers that were there since he was slowly fade away from his body. He tried summoning a sword but failed.

"You don't have your powers anymore, King Noctis…"

Gentiana was right next to him!

"Gentiana?! How the hell...what happened?" The Astral chuckled before explaining to Noct what had transpired after he destroyed his Crystal.

"After you destroyed the Crystal, All the former Kings and Queens vanished from the Astral Plane. The Astrals also died for good in the ensuing cosmic pulse the shattered Crystal emitted. Their magic was and by extension, lives were tied to to Crystal."

"But why…?"

"I am here because the New Goddess felt like she owed me."

"New Goddess?"

"Lady Lunafreya absorbed the magic energy that was released and became all powerful. She now has the magic of all the astrals and is the sole Goddess of Eos. Rechristening herself as "Etro" she vowed to make Eos a world of peace and hope. She let me live as a regular, mortal human in my Gentiana form. I have no more magic at all, I am simply human."

"Am I normal too?"

"Not exactly…" Gentiana handed Noct a tiny sliver of Crystal "You must now start from square one like Princeps did. You are officially the first New "Redeemed King of Lucis" and your powers shall grow for every generation of offspring you have."

"What about the Starscourge?"

"The Starscourge was tied to the magical energy of the old crystal as well. Now there are no more daemons in the world and the sun should be coming up soon."

"So...the plan worked?"

"Better than we could have hoped. I shall miss my old brethren though…"

"How are we going to explain this to everyone else?"

"That Nyx fellow is now Etro's Oracle and shall spread the world throughout Eos' various Priests and Priestesses. Soon, everyone shall worship the new True Goddess."

"Leave it Luna to come up with a perfect plan in ten minutes…"

"Indeed, she now has an eternity to spend with Nyx and doing what she loves- making the world better for humanity."

"We should tell the others."

"They are waiting for you outside.

0000

"Iris, will you marry me?"

"Noct you dropped a bombshell about Luna becoming the one true God and now you're asking me about marriage?!"

"I just came back from almost dying! I want to do this before anything else happens to me! Besides, the media won't stop harassing me until I get a wife."

"How romantic...Well, it's been a long day and I'm glad you're alive. I can't believe I'm going to be a queen!"

"That's a yes, then?"

"Of course it is, you dummy!"

Gladio glanced at the two before laughing. Somehow, it all worked out and his annoying little sister got married to her childhood sweetheart. Just like somehow Gentiana escaped the death of the Astrals and was now fully human. He'd have to thank Luna and Nyx for this solid when he dies.

"Speaking of weddings, Gentiana…"

"Oh you cad!"

0000

"Prince Solanaceous, please be careful!"

"Just call me Sol, Aulena. Just because you're my adviser doesn't mean you have to use my super long full name! And quit worryin' about me, I'll be just fine."

"If you get hurt climbing these rocks, it'll be _my parents_ chewing _me_ out for being a terrible Shield!" Armium inherited his dad's hot temper and was sick and tired of the pale prince being so reckless.

"Guys, hold still. I'm trying to paint you all on the mountain!" a slender blonde teen chirped out her request

"Wouldn't it be easier if you took a simple photo of his highness instead of opting for an elaborate painting, Zoe?" Aulena knew that one day she will die from the stress the Prince or Zoe put on her daily. _"Well, father did say that being an adviser would be hard work…"_

"Yo Sol, get the hell off those rocks! You're gonna slip and break your neck!"

"I'm old enough to know what I'm doing!"

Aulena decided to reprimand Sol for his impudent behavior. "You're only nine years old Sol! You are in no way "old enough to know what you are doing!"

"Yeah? And you're fourteen, Aulena! You have no room to talk about being too young to do anything!"

Across the park, the group's parents were having a chuckle at the kids' expense. It was as if they were having a flashback to their younger years.

"It appears that Sol is the opposite of you in your younger years, Noct. you were lazy to a fault while he wants to do everything by himself."

"That's because he has Amicitia DNA in him. You're lucky Iris is a good mother, Noct."

"Hey, hey, don't I get credit for being the king who recovered humanity from the darkness and having time to spend with his kid?"

"No, because you have the best Adviser in the history of the world at yer' side" Cindy beamed proudly at her husband.

"How'd you let Ignis raise your kid to be such a worrywart, Cindy?"

"As opposed to your child who shirks off her school duties to paint and take pictures of everything around her?" Ignis fired back at Prompto.

"Guys, shouldn't we be celebrating Gentiana's ten year anniversary as a human instead of arguing?" Iris gave her sister in law a meaningful glance."

"Yeah, how's it feel actually aging?"

"While I am now terrified of wrinkles, I think that being able to raise a kid who I won't outlive is worth any price. It helps that my husband is still impeccably handsome…"

"You're damn right!"

They all laughed at Gladio declaration of pride. It had been ten years since the light returned and peace was restored in Eos. Cor was now in charge of ruling Niflheim with Verstael aiding him in creating more robots to help with reconstruction. Noctis had his hands full in Lucis and Altissia while Aranea and Loqi made sure Tenebrae was getting back on track. Although a lot of work still needed to be done, they revelled in what they accomplished.

Somehow, things turned out alright.

 ***Here's the anticlimactic end to a rushed, mediocre fanfic! Luna becoming Etro is a nod to Etro being the Goddess of the Versus13 version of FFXV.**

 **Armium- combination of "armum" (latin for armor) and "Lilium" (Lily)**

 **Solanaceous- it's latin for nightshade (a flower) and has the world sol (latin for sun)**

 **Prompto is too dumb to think of a fancy latin name for his daughter**

 **EDIT: I just realized that I finished this on Christmas! I don't celebrate it, but I wish everyone here a nice Christmas. Spend it with the people you love.**

 **Thanks again for reading.***


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